Back to Action: The Summer Adventures
by srg118
Summary: Taking place between the events of "Remorphed" and "Return of Titanus", old enemies Rita Repulsa and Lord Zedd and their new ally Domminnous send Evil Space Aliens to conquer Angel Grove and try to destroy the newly repowered Mighty Morphin Power Rangers.
1. Chapter 1 Every Dog Has Its Day

On Monday, July 7th, there are several cars already parked in front of the fairly new Juice Bar and Diner of the Angel Grove Plaza.

* * *

At 5:30 in the Juice Bar, FARKAS "BULK" BULKMEIER and EUGENE "SKULL" SKULLOVITCH are already at the bar, tending to customers. Jason, Kimberly and Zack, dressed in workout clothes, walk over to the bar and they sit on vacant stools. Unlike Jason and Zack, who are wearing T-shirts, Kimberly is wearing an unbuttoned overshirt worn over her tank top to successfully cover her scars.

BULK: "Hey, guys. What can I get you?"

JASON: "We'll just order some sodas right now. We'll be ordering more when our friends get here."

KIMBERLY: "It's good to see you guys back in town. We missed you."

SKULL: "Well, we're glad to see you back on Earth. I can't believe we missed being abducted by aliens."

The three fell silent for a moment. After all, the memories of what happened back on planet Drynnix from a few weeks ago were still vivid in their minds. Zack forces a smile at Bulk and Skull.

ZACK: "Trust us, you're better off missing out on that."

BULK: "Skull, go on and set out the free chili samples, would you? And be careful, the floor's still wet."

SKULL: "Be right back, Bulky."

Skull walks off and through the back door to the kitchen. Bulk walks over to the soda dispenser and he picks up three large cups to fill them.

ZACK: "What's going on?"

BULK: "We've got a new chili recipe we want to try out and we're having free samples. You guys want to try some?"

Before they could answer, Skull walks out of the door, carrying a large bowl of chili in his hands.

SKULL: "I've got the chili, Bulky!"

Just as Skull reached the bar, Bulk opens his mouth to remind his closest friend about the wet floor. But by then, it was too late - Skull had already slipped on the wet floor, the chili bowl is sent flying out of his hands and it spills all over Jason, Zack and Kimberly. Bulk grimaces and the three Rangers look on at the chili spilled all over them. Some of the people at the bar who saw what happened start laughing.

KIMBERLY: "Ew, gross!"

Skull stands up and looks at the others.

SKULL: "Sorry. Forgot about the wet floor."

Bulk shakes his head.

* * *

Meanwhile, on the balcony of the Lunar Palace, Rita and Domminnous look on at the Rangers in the Juice Bar and Lord Zedd is eyeing them with his telescopic eyebeam. DOMMINNOUS, RITA AND ZEDD BURST OUT LAUGHING at the sight of the Rangers covered with spilled chili.

Domminnous and Rita look away from their telescopes and Rita looks at Zedd, who ends his eyebeam.

RITA: "That was fun and all, but we still need to find a way to get rid of those Power Pukes!"

Zedd ends the eyebeam and he looks at Rita.

ZEDD: "We'll come up with something nasty for them."

DOMMINNOUS: "No need. I already have an idea in mind."

RITA: "What've you got in mind?"

DOMMINNOUS: "Just leave it to me! I'll come up with an idea for a new monster, one that will mean the end of the Power Rangers!"

Domminnous starts CHUCKLING wickedly. It'd been quite some time since he'd made a monster of his own, and now he had his chance to show Rita and Zedd how making a monster should be done.

* * *

At 5:55 p.m., Ethan, Kat and Tommy walk into the Juice Bar. Ethan is wearing workout clothes, while Kat and Tommy are wearing unbuttoned long-sleeved shirts over T-shirts, jeans and sneakers. Bulk and Skull turn to face the three unmorphed Rangers as they sit at the bar.

BULK: "Hey, guys. What can we get you?"

TOMMY: "One regular Coke and one large Sprite for me, please."

ETHAN: "One Coke, please."

Skull nods. He walks off to get the sodas, but Bulk puts his hand to Skull's chest and stops him.

BULK: "Not this time. I'll get it."

Bulk walks off, grabs three large cups and starts to fill the cups with the Rangers' drinks.

KAT: "Say, have either of you seen Kim and the guys? I thought they'd be waiting for us."

SKULL: "They were. They had to go shower after the chili fell on them."

ETHAN: "I beg your pardon?"

Bulk walks back to the bar and he hands the Rangers their respective sodas.

BULK: "It's a long story. That'll be four seventy-five."

Tommy starts to grab his wallet, but Ethan grabs a five-dollar bill from his pocket and hands it to Bulk first.

ETHAN: "Don't worry, Tommy, the drinks are on me."

KAT: (smiling) "Thank you, Ethan."

ETHAN: "Don't mention it, it's no big..."

Ethan suddenly stops as he looks to his right. Tommy and Kat notice Ethan is staring nervously, and Ethan wasn't the type to freeze up easily.

TOMMY: "Hey, man. You okay?

Bulk and Skull look across the room and the two grin.

SKULL: "Ohhhh! I get it!"

KAT: "What is it?"

BULK: "Just look at table number two."

Tommy and Kat turn their heads and they look at a lovely, 26 year old woman seated at a nearby table – LAURA WATERS. Laura has shoulder-length brunette hair, brown eyes and a lean physique. Laura is dressed in a white unzipped jacket over a pink T-shirt, denim jeans and boots. Ethan stares at her, smitten. Kat and Tommy exchange smiles.

KAT: "Is that her?"

ETHAN: "Yeah. That's Laura."

KAT: "She's lovely. You should go talk to her."

Ethan looks over at Tommy and Kat. He shakes his head, his face turning red.

ETHAN: "I don't think so."

Bulk and Skull frown, while the three Rangers are oblivious to their reaction.

TOMMY: "Don't be nervous, man. Just be yourself."

KAT: "Yeah, maybe you two will get along fine. She seems real nice."

SKULL: "Uh, I hate to interrupt the pep talk, but, uh..."

Skull points at the table and the three seated Rangers turn to Laura's table. Laura has already left while they were talking. Ethan frowns.

ETHAN: "Oh."

So much for introductions.

* * *

At 5:57 P.M., in the main hall of the Plaza's main building, Jason, Kimberly and Zack walk down the hall, away from the locker rooms. They are dressed in new civilian clothes, they have towels around their necks and they are still a little wet from having recently showered. Like before, Kimberly has an overshirt worn over her new pink tank top. Kimberly uses her towel to dry her hair some more and she glances at Jason.

KIMBERLY: "Y' know, I wonder how many of these Bulk and Skull had to take during our high school days."

ZACK: "Yeah, those two did get into a lot of messes. Half the time, they didn't even cause them."

Kimberly notices Jason's look.

KIMBERLY: "Jason, are you okay?"

JASON: "Yeah. I was just thinking. If Bulk and Skull had got hit with that chili, we would've laughed, right? But it happened to us, and Bulk and Skull didn't even chuckle."

KIMBERLY: "Of course not. It was just an accident."

JASON: "Yeah, but what about all the times we laughed at their accidents? Skull even apologized for what happened. We never did that when it happened to them."

The two fell silent for a moment. Jason did have a point. After all the times Bulk and Skull had been sprayed and splattered and dumped with trash, they had always found it funny. Kimberly smirks at Jason, trying to get the moody cheery again.

KIMBERLY: "Well, let's change that."

ZACK: "Yeah. We're not kids anymore. Besides, we've grown up. We've matured. I think that..."

Zack suddenly stops as he looks ahead. His eyes widen with shock. Kimberly and Jason look confused as Zack lets out a love-struck smile.

ZACK: "I think I'm dreaming."

Kimberly and Jason turn around to the front desk. Standing in front of the receptionist is ANGELA, Zack's old love interest from their early days at Angel Grove High School. Angela is wearing a T-shirt with the Angel Grove Plaza logo on it, black pants and black sneakers. Kimberly and Jason smile.

KIMBERLY: "I didn't know Angela was back in Angel Grove."

ZACK: "I wonder what she's doing here."

JASON: "Well, go ask her."

ZACK: "Yeah. Yeah, I will. I'll be right back, guys."

Zack walks off and over to Angela. He smiles at her.

ZACK: "Angela?"

Angela turns to Zack and she smiles, pleasantly surprised.

ANGELA: "Zack! I didn't know you were back in Angel Grove."

ZACK: "I didn't know you were, either. What brings you back here?"

ANGELA: "I'll be working at the Plaza now. I just got a new job here, working as an aerobics instructor down the hall."

ZACK: "No kidding! I've got my own dance class here, too. Listen, I was going to join my friends at the Juice Bar and grab some dinner. Would you care to join us?"

ANGELA: "Sorry, Zack. I just came back from my dinner break."

ZACK: "Oh. Well, that's cool. Maybe we could do something else."

ANGELA: "Yeah, maybe we could. I've got to get going, though. I have to meet up with some friends. See you around."

Angela turns and she walks off. Zack smiles and nods.

ZACK: "See you, Angela!"

Zack walks over to Kimberly and Jason, grinning.

ZACK: "Well, she can't hang out tonight. But all is not lost. I think she still might have a soft spot for the Zack man."

KIMBERLY: "Looks like it. Hey, let's go catch up with the others. I'm getting hungry."

ZACK: "Yeah, me too. Let's jam."

The trio turn walk off down the hall. Things were looking better already.

* * *

It was nearly 6 p.m. when Domminnous stepped back out onto the palace balcony. Rita looks away from Earth and she turns to face Lord Zedd and Domminnous.

RITA: "So what kind of monster should we pit against the Rangers this time?"

DOMMINNOUS: "If I may, Rita, I'll create my own monster. It's been eons since I last made a creation of my own."

RITA: "What do you have in mind?"

DOMMINNOUS: "Well, let's have a look."

Domminnous looks at the Earth through his telescope.

Through his telescope, Domminnous looks over the city of Angel Grove, past the Plaza over to the apartment district a few miles west of there and over to the park. A few miles away from the Juice Bar is a book shop, Aaron's Book Store. There is a statue of Cerberus on the roof, above the sign.

DOMMINNOUS: "Perfect! That statue is just what I need!"

Domminnous' eyes glow with purple energy and a purple ball of energy appears in his hand. The energy orb grows until it reaches the size of a snow globe.

DOMMINNOUS: "These Rangers are going to meet their end at the jaws of MY creation... the Cerbrute!"

DOMMINNOUS LAUGHS and he throws the energy orb ahead. It flies through space like a meteorite as it heads to Earth.

* * *

The energy orb shoots down from the sky, it strikes the Cerberus statue and the orb disappears into the statue. The Cerberus statue glows with purple energy for a few moments and then it materializes into a man-sized dog monster with paws for hands and feet: Cerbrute. The monster's three heads have purple eyes and the dog wears black chest armor, black trunks and black armored knee-high boots. The CERBRUTE MONSTER GROWLS with anger.

* * *

Back over at the Juice Bar, Tommy, Kat and Ethan are still seated at the bar. Jason, Kimberly and Zack walk over and join them. The three take their seats.

TOMMY: "Hey, there you guys are! You guys okay?"

KIMBERLY: (nodding) "Yeah, we're fine. It was just an accident."

ZACK: "You guys ready to eat?"

Jason's communicator beeps its musical melody. The six Rangers frown and exchange looks of concern. Jason looks around for a moment, making sure no one is watching them, and then Jason motions his head to his left, towards the exit door. The Rangers get up from their seats and they walk off to the hall. The six Rangers look around to confirm their alone. Jason then taps his communicator's talk button.

JASON: "Zordon, we read you."

ZORDON: (on communicator) "Rangers, report to the Command Center. It's urgent."

JASON: "We're on our way."

The six line up, they tap their communicators' teleportation button and they beam into the air in streaks of energy of their Ranger color.

* * *

The six Rangers beam down and land on their feet near the control consoles. They walk over to Zordon and Alpha 5.

TOMMY: "Zordon, what's going on?"

ZORDON: "Rangers, we have a new monster in the city. Behold the Viewing Globe."

The six Rangers turn to the Viewing Globe. Cerbrute is loose in the park, whipping its serpent tail at a fleeing bystander and he barely misses. Cerbrute turns and starts shooting red energy beams from the eyes of its middle head.

ZORDON: "Rangers, this is the Cerbrute monster, based on the mythological creature Cerberus. Domminnous has created this from his own evil energy and has bestowed it with strength greater than that of your Power Ranger uniforms. We've finished improving your Power Weapons to deal with these new kinds of stronger monsters."

ZACK: "Man, that dude's huge!"

KAT: "Since this monster is stronger than us, do we know if it has any weak spots?"

ALPHA 5: "We're scanning it now, Katherine, but so far we can't find any yet."

TOMMY: "When you find one, let us know. We have to get down there."

ZORDON: "Be cautious, Rangers, and may the Power protect you."

The Rangers reach behind their backs for their Morphers.

JASON: "It's Morphin' Time!"

They hold out their Morphers, they push the button on the side and the Morpher cases pop open.

TOMMY: "Dragonzord!"

ZACK: "Mastodon!"

KIMBERLY: "Pterodactyl!"

ETHAN: "Triceratops!"

KAT: "Saber-Toothed Tiger!"

JASON: "Tyrannosaurus!"

A fiery red grid appears over Jason's face and it splits vertically to reveal the Red Ranger helmet, signaling the change into their Power Ranger uniforms.

* * *

Near Angel Grove Park, the six Mighty Morphin Power Rangers flip through the air and they land on the grass, near a playground. Cerbrute turns and looks at the Rangers.

GREEN RANGER: "All right, Cujo! I suggest you run along back to the moon before things get ugly!"

CEREBRUTE BARKS at the Rangers and charges at the Rangers. The Rangers draw their weapons – Green Ranger his Dragon Dagger, the other five drawing their Blade Blaster swords – and they return the charge to begin the fight.

Black Ranger reaches Cerbrute first and he slashes his Blade Blaster sword at the monster. Cerbrute blocks it and knocks Black Ranger aside with a slash to his chest from his right paw hand. Pink Ranger moves in next and launches a high kick that Cerbrute blocks. He dodges her Blade Blaster sword slash attempt and knocks her down with a sparkly slash to her chest. Blue Ranger moves in and knocks Cerbrute back with a kick to the stomach. Cerbrute blocks Blue Ranger's Blaster sword attack and he knocks Blue Ranger down with a sparkly slash to his chest, shredding his costume. Yellow Ranger moves in and slashes Cerbrute's chest with her Blade Blaster sword. Cerbrute blocks her kick attempt and he slashes her left arm with his left paw hand, tearing her costume. Yellow Ranger clutches her arm and then Cerbrute knocks her to the ground as he sparkly slashes her stomach. Thankfully, the slash hadn't cut the skin... this time.

GREEN RANGER: "Kat! NO!"

Green Ranger leaps at Cerbrute and he kicks the monster's chest. Cerbrute stumbles back and Green Ranger slashes his Dragon Dagger across the monster's chest, raising sparks. He attempts another slash with his Dagger, but Cerbrute blocks and knocks Green Ranger down with a sparkly slash to his Dragon Shield chest armor. Red Ranger moves in next and he launches a tornado kick that knocks Cerbrute back a few steps. Red Ranger attempts a slash with his Blade Blaster sword, but Cerbrute dodges and he kicks Red Ranger's chest. Cerbrute lunges and his middle head bites Red Ranger's left shoulder. RED RANGER SCREAMS IN PAIN as Cerbrute's jaws rip into his costume. The other Rangers look on in shock and horror.

PINK RANGER: "Get away from him! Switch to gun mode, fast!"

The four Rangers switch their Blade Blasters to gun mode and they shoot red beams that hit Cerbrute's back. The monster lets go of Red Ranger and it stumbles aside. The other five Rangers run over to join Red Ranger, who is clutching his shoulder.

RED RANGER: "Thanks, guys. He almost took a bite outta me! We'd better - Wait! Look out!"

Cerbrute shoots a purple cyclone from its middle head's mouth and it engulfs the Rangers. The Rangers start to dim and fade and they let out STARTLED CRIES as the cyclone creates a vortex that the Rangers are trapped in. The six Rangers disappear, teleported away.

* * *

Back in the Command Center, the Viewing Globe shows the Rangers caught in the vortex and they let out STARTLED CRIES as they disappear. Zordon and Alpha 5 watch the Viewing Globe as the picture fades.

ALPHA 5: "Oh, no! The Rangers have vanished!"

ZORDON: "We must discover where the Cerbrute monster's vortex has transported them to."

Alpha 5 nods and he starts pushing buttons on his keypad.

ALPHA 5: "I'm scanning the area now. I just hope it doesn't take long to find them."

* * *

The six Rangers fade in and out, as if caught in a strobe light. They reappear and stop fading as they stand on the rocky ground. The six Power Rangers look around at their new surroundings, which almost resembles Hades. The heat was already starting to make them sweat beneath their suits, but it wasn't hot enough to hurt them. Red Ranger rubs his shoulder, while Yellow Ranger clutches her wounded stomach.

YELLOW RANGER: "Where are we?"

PINK RANGER: "This place is pretty creepy, you guys."

GREEN RANGER: "Stay alert, guys. That Cerbrute freak's around here somewhere."

CERBRUTE GROWLS and the Rangers turn around. Cerbrute leaps past them and slashes them with his claws, raising sparks off their suits. Pink Ranger rubs her wounded right arm, noticing her sleeve has been cut.

GREEN RANGER: "Man, this guy's quick!"

PINK RANGER: "Watch those claws! This guy wants to rip us to shreds!"

CERBRUTE GROWLS. He leaps at them again, but the Rangers roll aside. Red Ranger aims his Blade Blaster gun at them and he shoots a red beam at Cerbrute's back. The monster staggers aside, but he turns and opens his middle mouth. A stream of fire flows out of Cerbrute's mouth and Red Ranger's chest catches fire. Black Ranger leaps, he tackles Red Ranger to the ground and he starts patting the fire out of Red Ranger's chest.

BLACK RANGER: "Are you okay, Jase?"

RED RANGER: "Yeah. That fire was about to eat through my costume."

Cerbrute tries again, but the Yellow and Pink Rangers shoot energy beams from their Blade Blaster guns and they knock Cerbrute back. Cerbrute recovers, all three heads open their mouth and they let out LOUD BARKS. The barks grow louder, deafening, and the six Rangers cover their ears. CERBRUTE BARKS LOUDER and the Rangers start SCREAMING. CERBRUTE BARKS LOUDER and sends out shockwaves that knock the Rangers back. Red Ranger struggles to move forward against the shockwaves, which continues slamming him and his teammates. Despite the pain, Red Ranger is barely able to draw and aim his Blade Blaster gun.

RED RANGER: "_Enough is ENOUGH!_"

Red Ranger opens fire and he hits Cerbrute's chest. Cerbrute stops barking and he stumbles back, hurt. Cerbrute shoots a stream of flame from his middle mouth at Red Ranger, but he somersaults aside. And as he landed, Red Ranger let out a smile behind his helmet.

RED RANGER: "Wait a minute. Zack! Switch your Power Axe to your new deep freeze mode! It might be what weakens him!"

BLACK RANGER: "You've got it!"

Black Ranger draws his Power Axe out, he switches it to cannon mode and he pushes a purple button. The Axe spews out a special icy mist that hits Cerbrute's mouth and extinguishes the flames in his middle mouth. CERBRUTE GROWLS ANGRILY and he BARKS at the Rangers. The other four Rangers draw their respective Power Weapons from behind their backs – Red Ranger draws his Sword, Pink Ranger her Bow, Yellow Ranger her Daggers and Blue Ranger his Lance.

RED RANGER: "Rangers, let's finish this!"

The other five Rangers charge to fight Cerbrute, while Green Ranger's communicator BEEPS from under his glove. He holds up his wrist and pushes the communicator's talk button.

GREEN RANGER: "What is it, Zordon?"

* * *

In the Command Center, Zordon and Alpha 5 watch the battle in progress from the Viewing Globe.

ZORDON: "Tommy, your Dragon Dagger can now connect to the Power Blaster. When your turn comes, toss your Dagger to the Blaster and connect it under the Bow."

* * *

Back in the otherworld dimension, Green Ranger nods and holds up his Dragon Dagger.

GREEN RANGER: "Gotcha, Zordon! We'll take care of this guy!"

The Pink and Black Rangers leap at Cerbrute. She shoots out pink energized arrows from her Bow, while he fires a purple beam from his Power Axe, and the beams knock Cerbrute back with sparkly hits to his chest. Yellow and Blue Rangers leap next and then they hit Cerbrute with their Daggers and Lance, respectively. As Cerbrute stumbles back, Red Ranger leaps and lets out a KARATE YELL as the blade of his Power Sword glows with red energy. Red Ranger slices his Sword down Cerbrute's chest, the monster is knocked down and he hits the ground rolling.

The five Rangers stand together and Green Ranger joins them. Black Ranger pulls down a hidden handle from the handle of his Axe. CERBRUTE GROWLS at the Rangers.

RED RANGER: "Rangers, assemble Power Blaster!"

The Rangers toss their Power Weapons, one by one, into the air to form the Power Blaster.

BLACK RANGER: "Power Axe!"

PINK RANGER: "Power Bow!"

YELLOW RANGER: "Power Daggers!"

BLUE RANGER: "Power Lance!"

Breaking up the usual routine, Red Ranger moves aside as Green Ranger holds up his Dagger.

GREEN RANGER: "Dragon Dagger!"

Green Ranger steps forward and tosses his Dragon Dagger. It connects to the handle under the Power Axe. Red Ranger steps forward to finish the assembly of the Power Blaster.

RED RANGER: "Power Sword!"

He leaps into mid-air, he grabs the Axe's handle and he sets his Power Sword down to complete the Power Blaster's change. Red Ranger drops to the ground holding the Blaster and the other Rangers crowd around him.

SIX RANGERS: "Power Rangers!"

CERBRUTE BARKS angrily. Cerbrute charges at the Rangers.

SIX RANGERS: "Lock on and FIRE!"

Red Ranger pulls the trigger and beams shoot out from the Power Blaster – a green beam from the Dagger, a blue beam from the first Power Dagger, a pink beam from the first Power Lance, a red beam from the Power Axe barrel, a yellow beam from the second Lance's barrel, a purple beam from the second Dagger's barrel, and a green beam from the barrel of the Dragon Dagger. The beams hit Cerbrute, the monster falls over and he EXPLODES.

* * *

The Rangers are suddenly teleported out of the dimension and back near the playground that they were at before. The burnt dust pile remains of what was Cerbrute are on the sidewalk. The Rangers look around, startled.

GREEN RANGER: "Man, it's good to be out of that creepy dimension."

* * *

Back on the balcony, Domminnous glares angrily, having seen his monster destroyed.

DOMMINNOUS: "No! NO! My wonderful monster will not fail!"

Domminnous' eyes glow with purple energy, which makes the tip of his staff glow with purple energy. Domminnous aims his staff forward and he fires a purple electrical beam at the Earth.

DOMMINNOUS: "Grow, my monster! GROW!"

* * *

The beam hits a pile of dust on the grass and it materializes into Cerbrute, who quickly grows bigger and bigger until he becomes giant-sized. CERBRUTE GROWLS as he looks down at the Rangers with his three heads.

BLACK RANGER: "Aw, man! I thought he was history!"

RED RANGER: "Let's finish this, guys! We need Dinozord power, now!"

The Zords emerge from their respective hiding places, one at a time - the Tyrannosaurus emerges up from a volcanic pit in one unknown location, the Mastodon marches away from an frozen area elsewhere, the Triceratops rolls out from a desert, the Saber-Toothed Tiger runs out from a jungle and the Pterodactyl flies up and out from a volcano. The five Zords meet up quickly in the city and rush together towards the Rangers.

GREEN RANGER: "It's time for Dragonzord power!"

Green Ranger uses his Dagger as a flute and he plays the Dragonzord fanfare tune. Dragonzord emerges from the ocean and it walks out onto land. The Rangers, except Green, leap into the air and to the head of their respective Dinozord. Red Ranger is the first to enter his Zord's cockpit and the others do the same.

RED RANGER: "Log on!"

BLACK RANGER: "Zack here, ready to groove!"

BLUE RANGER: "Ethan here, logging on!"

YELLOW RANGER: "Kat here, systems ready!"

PINK RANGER: "Kimberly here, flying high!"

Red Ranger holds up his newly-formed Red Power Crystal.

RED RANGER: "Rangers, power up your crystals!"

Red Ranger puts his Power Crystal into his control console's outlet. The other four Rangers do the same.

FOUR RANGERS: "Two, one, power up!"

RED RANGER: "Let's get to work, Rangers!"

By now, the Zords have moved away from the park to the mountainous desert. Cerbrute is already there and ready for battle. The Tyrannosaurus moves in first and the Zord lets loose a tail-whip that Cerbrute dodges. Cerbrute slashes its left paw hand across the Tyrannosaurus's chest and the Zord stumbles back. Tyrannosaurus is then knocked down with a kick to the chest. Red Ranger is shaken in his seat as he hits the ground.

BLACK RANGER: "Hang tight, Jase! You noticed Snoopy doesn't seem to like the cold, so maybe I can cool him off!"

Mastodon Dinozord moves in and sprays an icy mist at Cerbrute. Cerbrute stumbles back, but shoots flames from his middle head's mouth that knocks the icy mist back. Black Ranger pushes the buttons on his console with no success.

BLACK RANGER: "The fire's too strong!"

PINK RANGER: "Let me try!"

The Pterodactyl Dinozord flies at Cerbrute to attack, but Cerbrute's third head fires red beams from his eyes that hits the Zord. Pink Ranger is shaken in her seat as her Zord's hit. The beams continue to hit the Zord and they burn brighter, getting hotter.

PINK RANGER: "My systems are overheating!"

Cerbrute's fire breath finally causes the icy mist to dissolve and Cerbrute's middle head fires red eyebeams that knocks the Zord back. Nearby, the Saber-Toothed Tiger charges at the monster.

YELLOW RANGER: "Maybe I can get him!"

Cerbrute's first head shoots eyebeams at the Saber-Toothed Tiger, but the Zord leaps over the beams and raises sparks off the monster's chest as the Zord passes by. This causes the monster to end the beams at the Pterodactyl and the damaged Zord turns, flying away. However, Cerbrute's first head fires eyebeams at the Zord's back that knocks the Saber-Toothed Tiger to the ground.

BLUE RANGER: "With those three heads, he can attack us without turning! We can't surprise him!"

GREEN RANGER: "Maybe we can, if we can keep him distracted."

Green Ranger plays a tune on his Dagger/flute and Dragonzord tail-whips Cerbrute from behind. Cerbrute stumbles forward and he turns to face Dragonzord.

GREEN RANGER: "Let's see what you've got, Fido!"

Cerbrute tail-whips Dragonzord and the Zord stumbles back. Cerbrute tries another tail-whip attack, but Dragonzord blocks it and knocks the monster back with a punch to the chest. Tyrannosaurus approaches from behind and grabs Cerbrute's tail from behind.

RED RANGER: "Remember me, ugly? Guys, hit him now!"

Pterodactyl swoops in towards Cerbrute and the monster shoots eyebeams from his third head. However, the Tyrannosaurus pulls the tail and he pulls the monster aside when he fires the eyebeams, making him miss. Pterodactyl dodges the misfired beams and fires blue bolts from its shoulders that successfully hit Cerbrute.

BLUE RANGER: "My turn!"

The Triceratops Dinozord rolls towards Cerbrute and he tries to shoot a burst of flames from his first head, but the Tyrannosaurus pulls the monster aside and makes the flames miss. Triceratops fires its dual cannon from its tail and sparks fly off Cerbrute's chest as he's hit.

GREEN RANGER: "I've got him! Move away, Jase!"

Green Ranger plays a tune on his Dagger/flute and missiles appear in Dragonzord's fingertips. Tyrannosaurus lets go of the tail and pushes Cerbrute forward. The monster stumbles forward and Tyrannosaurus walks away as Dragonzord fires the missiles from its fingertips. The missiles hit Cerbrute's chest and the monster is knocked down with a shower of sparks. CERBRUTE GROWLS as the monster stands up.

BLUE RANGER: "Shall we switch to Megazord?"

RED RANGER: "No need to, Ethan! I'll take care of this brute!"

BLACK RANGER: "Let me wrap this guy up for you, Jase!"

Black Ranger activates the Mastodon's ice spray again, this time from behind. The Mastodon successfully sprays over Cerbrute. The monster struggles against the icy mist, but is quickly frozen in place. Red Ranger moves a slider forward on his controls and he activates the ground breath attack. The Tyrannosaurus fires a beam from its mouth into the ground that heads for Cerbrute and the attack causes the monster to disintegrate. The Tyrannosaurus ROARS victoriously.

RED RANGER: "Yeah! Morphinomenal!"

* * *

Back on the palace balcony, Domminnous looks at the Earth with rage. He looks over at Rita and Zedd, livid.

DOMMINNOUS: "NO! They destroyed the Cerbrute monster! None of my monsters have ever failed me before!"

RITA: "Welcome to our world, Domminnous! None of our best monsters lost till they fought the Power Rangers!"

DOMMINNOUS: "But it was one of my nastiest! It should've torn them to shreds!"

ZEDD: "Oh, please! Did you really expect to destroy them with the first monster you sent to fight them? Your monster was good, but the Rangers are better. If you want to destroy the Rangers, you always have to make new monsters nastier and more dangerous than your last until you can find one to finish them off!"

Domminnous looks away, almost too humiliated to look them in the face.

DOMMINNOUS: "Very well. They may have won this round, but I will come up with a monster deadly enough to kill the Power Rangers! And I swear to you, they will meet their end by our hands!"

Domminnous LAUGHS evilly.

* * *

It was 6:45 when the Rangers had nearly finished their dinner at the Juice Bar. Zack, however, is still eating and is biting into a newly-arrived hamburger.

TOMMY: "Aw, man. I can't believe you're still eating."

JASON: "I can. How many is that now, Zack? Three?"

ZACK: "And counting."

The others LAUGH. Dulcea, in a business suit, walks over and she stands by the Rangers' table.

DULCEA: "Good evening."

ETHAN: "Hello, Mrs. Kamps. How are you this evening?"

DULCEA: "That was going to be my question for all of you." (lowers voice) "I was informed of what happened earlier by Alpha. Good job, Rangers."

TOMMY: (lowered voice) "Thanks. Would you like to join us for dinner, Dulcea?"

DULCEA: (normal voice) "Not this time. I still have work to finish back in my office."

ZACK: "Okay, then. See you later."

Dulcea nods and she turns to walk away. The Rangers watch as Dulcea leaves the Juice Bar.

* * *

In the palace's throne room, Domminnous is pacing back and forth, his hands behind his back. Rita and Zedd are seated on their thrones and they watch him pace.

DOMMINNOUS: "These Rangers are infuriating. I sent down one of my more powerful monsters in centuries and they destroyed him in minutes!"

RITA: "Man, you're not going to let this go, are you? Relax, Domminnous! Don't waste your time sulking!"

Domminnous stops and he turns to Rita and Zedd. He smiles at them.

DOMMINNOUS: "Sulking? Quite the contrary, my dear. Pacing helps me think. And I've already got several nasty monsters in mind to send against those Rangers!"

Rita rolls her eyes.

RITA: "Yeah. Good luck with that. Finster has a whole book of monsters, some of which he never got to use yet, and his best monsters took down some of the best warriors around before they were sent against the Rangers."

DOMMINNOUS: "Very true. But his monsters are not as strong, or as wicked, as the ones I can come up with."

Zedd puts his hand over his face. Domminnous had been known for repeating himself and bragging about his great powers, but this was quickly getting irritating.

ZEDD: "Oh, brother."

Domminnous turns, he looks at the Earth and he smiles.

DOMMINNOUS: "The Rangers can enjoy the rest of their night off. For next time, I assure you the next battle will be their last."

Rita and Zedd just groan, painfully. Between the Rangers' victory and Domminnous' boasting, it was enough to give an overlord of evil one heck of a headache.


	2. Chapter 2 Three De-mensional

On Tuesday, July 8th, at the Angel Grove Plaza, a black van backs up and drives out of the parking lot of the Plaza.

* * *

Inside the Plaza, Kimberly is standing in her classroom and she watches as her teenage students pack up their gym bags. Among the gymnastics students are a 17 with long auburn hair named AMBER, a 16 year old with short brunette hair named JILL, and a 16 year old with curly blonde hair named LUCY.

KIMBERLY: "Remember, guys, we'll be going over the new gymnastics routine tomorrow. See you then."

Kimberly smiles as she watches her class walk out. She glances down at her watch on her wrist, she notices the time and she smiles. Kimberly turns, she unzips her jacket and she starts to remove it. She doesn't notice that Lucy has stepped back into the classroom. Lucy stops as she sees Kimberly taking off her jacket and she sees the scars on Kimberly's right shoulder, her left arm and on her back beneath her tank top.

LUCY: "Excuse me?"

Kimberly lets out a startled GASP and she turns around, quickly putting her jacket back on. Kimberly puts her hand over her heart as she smiles at Lucy.

KIMBERLY: "Oh, Lucy. Sorry, you startled me."

LUCY: "Sorry about that. I just came back to tell you I won't be able to make it to class tomorrow. I've got an appointment with my dentist after class. Is there some time this week you can help me catch up and learn the routine?"

KIMBERLY: "Sure. I've actually got another class tomorrow at seven I could fit you in with, if you'd like to try that."

LUCY: "Really? That'd be great. Thanks, Miss Hart."

KIMBERLY: "It's no problem. Have a good night, Lucy."

LUCY: "You too."

Lucy waves as she walks out of the room. Kimberly smiles and then she moves her jacket away for a moment, noticing the slash scar on her right shoulder. Kimberly grimaces and she looks away. She still wasn't used to anyone looking at her scars, especially the staring that'd happened once she and her friends had come back from planet Drynnix. Kimberly shakes her head and she continues to pack up. She wasn't about to let a little embarrassment ruin her night.

* * *

In the Lunar Palace's throne room, Rita Repulsa, Lord Zedd and Domminnous are seated on their thrones. Baboo, Squatt, Scorpina, Goldar and Rito stand in attendance, watching them.

RITO: "Hey, you guys want us to go down and stir up some trouble? It's been a while since we saw any action!"

RITA: "Oh, zip your lip, Rito!"

DOMMINNOUS: "Now, now. Don't be too quick to snap at Rito."

Domminnous stands up, he walks away from his throne and he heads to the balcony.

DOMMINNOUS (CONT'D): "For once, Rita, your baby brother has a point."

Domminnous stands on the balcony, looking at the Earth. Rita and Zedd rise from their thrones and they walk over to join him on the balcony.

RITA: "What're you talking about, Domminnous? Sounds like you've got another plan in mind."

DOMMINNOUS: "Almost, Rita. As soon as I think of the right monster for the job, I'll rid us of those meddling Power Rangers for good!"

* * *

Back in the Plaza, at the Juice Bar and Diner, Ethan, Jason and Zack are already seated at the bar. Jason and Ethan are wearing workout clothes, while Zack is wearing a black T-shirt, jeans and sneakers. They look at Bulk and Skull, who are at work behind the bar. Bulk is filling two large cups with soda, while Skull is setting down cheeseburgers and fries on one plate and hamburgers and fries on another.

BULK: "You want to order something, Jason?"

JASON: "No, thanks. Kim and I already have dinner plans and then we're going to see that new 3-D movie at the Multiplex."

ZACK: (smiles) "Speaking of Kim..."

Jason looks over and he smiles as Kimberly walks to the bar.

KIMBERLY: "Hey, guys. I just heard from Kat a few minutes ago, she's meeting up with Tommy. You ready to go?"

JASON: "Yeah, sure. We'll see you later."

Kimberly and Jason walk off and head towards the exit. Bulk hands over the sodas to Ethan and Zack.

BULK: "Here you go, guys."

Skull sets down the plates of food in front of Zack and Ethan.

SKULL: "Yeah. Here you go, guys."

Bulk gives Skull a glare and Skull shrugs sheepishly. Zack smiles at them, reminded of their usual banter back when they were just teenagers. Zack grabs a cheeseburger from his plate to eat.

ZACK: "Thanks, guys."

BULK: "No problem."

Ethan takes a sip from his cup of soda, while Bulk and Skull walk off to tend to more customers.

* * *

On the palace balcony, Domminnous looks at the Earth with his telescope. He makes his hands into fists and he looks away in frustration.

DOMMINNOUS: "Those Rangers actually think they'll have the night off to relax? The fools! I need time to come up with a decent monster."

He turns to Rita and Zedd.

DOMMINNOUS (CONT'D): "In the meantime, why don't you send down some of your Z-Putties, Zedd, to keep the Rangers occupied?"

Zedd chuckles evilly. Domminnous had no idea how pleased Zedd was to hear those words, considering the changes he'd been working on with his own Putty henchmen.

ZEDD: "Very well. With my new Z-Putties, the Rangers will find them much more difficult to defeat!"

* * *

On Adrian Avenue, a few miles away from the Plaza, Jason drives his black Hyundai Santa Fe drives up and parks in front of the Scott house's garage. The number of the house is 1646. Jason and Kimberly unbuckle their seat belts, they open the doors and they exit the Santa Fe. They shut the doors behind them and they smile lovingly at one another. Hanging out with the other Rangers was fun, but tonight they were looking forward to spending some time together. After all, it had been a while since they had an evening where it was just the two of them.

KIMBERLY: "So what time does the movie start?"

JASON: "Eight o'clock. So we've got plenty of time to relax until then."

As they walk to the front door, twelve Z-Putties appear out of thin air and they move out in front of the two Rangers. Jason and Kimberly step back, startled, and they quickly get into fighting stances.

KIMBERLY: "So much for relaxing."

JASON: "We can handle these guys. Just aim for the Zs."

Jason and Kimberly move out to fight the Z-Putties. While Jason moves past to deal with his own Putty opponents, Kimberly meets up with Z-Putty #1. She dodges a left hook, she ducks under a high kick and she lets loose a foot sweep kick that hits Putty #1 behind the ankles. Kimberly kicks down at the fallen Z-Putty's Z chest, but to her surprise, it doesn't break apart. Kimberly is caught equally off guard when Z-Putty #1 lets loose a foot sweep kick that knocks her down.

Nearby, Jason knocks Z-Putty #2 with a kick to the chest. The Putty stumbles back, but it doesn't glow and break apart. Instead, the Putty recovers, charges right at the surprised Jason and knocks him back with a jump-kick to Jason's chest. Jason stumbles back, but regains his balance and dodges Z-Putty #2's spinning heel kick. Jason counters with a right hook to the Putty's face and he knocks Z-Putty #2 back with a kick to the chest. The impact knocks the Putty to the ground, but it doesn't break apart.

On the driveway, Kimberly dodges Z-Putty #3's high kick and she knocks him back with a kick to the Z on his chest. The Putty stumbles back, but doesn't break apart, and Kimberly is knocked back with a kick to her ribs. She bumps against the Santa Fe and she looks at Jason, who blocks Z-Putty #4's left jab.

KIMBERLY: "Jason! They're not breaking apart!"

JASON: "I know, I don't get it! I think Zedd must've taken away their weak spot!"

Jason is knocked back with a kick to the ribs by Z-Putty #5, and Z-Putty #6 kicks Jason on the back. Jason is knocked to the ground. He looked around at the Z-Putties. These were a lot tougher, and much better fighters than the Z-Putty predecessors before them. For the first time, it seemed like Jason and Kimberly would need some help doing a usually routine task of taking out the Z-Putties.

* * *

Back at the Juice Bar, Ethan and Zack are seated at the bar and have nearly finished with their dinner. Zack smiles as he notices Laura seated at a table in the Juice Bar, having finished her own dinner.

ZACK: "Hey, Ethan. Isn't that your girlfriend?"

Ethan turns around, confused by the question, and he looks over at Laura. His eyes widen and he looks a little pale at the sight of her.

ZACK: "Hey, don't freeze up, man. Ask her out."

ETHAN: "I don't know."

ZACK: "Oh, you don't? Well, I do!"

Ethan chuckled. Zack couldn't possibly be serious. Zack stands up and he walks over to Laura. Ethan looks at Zack with shock, realizing this was all too real, and he tries to grab his arm, but Zack dodges with a grin.

ETHAN: "Zack. Zack, no!" (through gritted teeth) "Zack!"

This couldn't be happening. Not now. Not like this. But to Ethan's dismay, he could just watch as Zack walks over to Laura's table.

ZACK: "Excuse me? Laura?"

LAURA: "Oh, hi, Zack."

ZACK: "Listen, I was wondering if you'd mind meeting a good friend of mine."

LAURA: "Well, I just stopped by for a moment. I'm supposed to meet up with some friends."

ZACK: "Oh, it'll just take a minute. Honest."

LAURA: "Well, sure. All right."

Zack smiles and he takes Laura by the hand. He walks with her over to the bar, but he finds Ethan is pointing at his communicator. Zack frowns. Of all the times to have trouble come up...

Ethan quickly stops pointing as he sees Laura approach him with Zack. She was walking towards him. What would he say? Would he be able to talk to her calmly enough? Ethan had about fifty thousand questions swimming through his head, but then, as Zack and Laura stood by him, his mind went completely blank.

ZACK: "Look, I know you can't stay long, but this is my roommate and buddy, Ethan Kaye."

LAURA: "It's nice to meet you, Ethan."

Ethan smiles awkwardly and he holds his hand out. He couldn't believe they were finally meeting face to face. She smiles and shakes his hand.

ETHAN: "It's nice to meet me."

Realizing what he said, Ethan quickly, nervously, tried to come up with a more articulate response.

ETHAN: "I mean, it's nice for you to meet me. I mean..."

Ethan froze. Did he just say that? To his surprise, Laura giggles and she smiles at him. He didn't know if she thought he was cute, or foolish, or maybe both. Laura ends the handshake and she looks over at Zack sweetly.

LAURA: "Your friend's got a way with words, I'll say that. I've got to get going, but perhaps we can get together some time to hang out."

ZACK: "Yeah, sure. That'd be cool, wouldn't it, Ethan?"

Ethan nodded, trying to find something clever to say, something cool, something...

ETHAN: "Yeah, wouldn't it?"

... other than that. Ethan frowned. That was not the cool or clever response he'd hoped to say and it was apparent to everyone how nervous he was. Laura smiles at Ethan and she keeps her eyes on them as she walks to the exit.

LAURA: "I'll see you later, Zack. And maybe I'll see you around, Ethan."

ETHAN: "I hope so."

Laura smiles at Ethan and she walks out of the Juice Bar. Ethan looks at Zack, looking embarrassed. That was hardly the first impression he wanted to make on the woman he had a crush on. Ethan rises from his seat as Zack gives him a mischievous grin.

ZACK: "That wasn't so bad."

ETHAN: "I'm so going to hurt you later. Right now, we'd better contact Zordon."

Zack nods and he walks off with Ethan into the hallway. Zack taps his communicator's talk button.

ZACK: "This is Zack. What's going on, Zordon?"

ZORDON: (on communicator) "Kimberly and Jason are being attacked by a new kind of Z-Putties outside their house. Their chest Z weakness has been removed and they have Kimberly and Jason outnumbered."

ZACK: "All right. Tell Kat and Tommy to meet up with us."

Zack and Ethan tap the teleport button of their communicators and they beam out.

* * *

On the front lawn of the Scott house, Kimberly rolls across the grass and as she gets up, she launches a jump kick that hits Z-Putty #1 on the chest Z that knocks Z-Putty down. She watches as Jason lets loose a tornado kick that knocks Z-Putty #2 down. Z-Putties #1 and #2 stand up, though briefly wobble off-balance, and they rejoin the other Putties. Jason and Kimberly turn around and see Tommy, Kat, Zack and Ethan running over to join them.

TOMMY: "Jason!"

KAT: "Are you guys okay?"

KIMBERLY: "Yeah, we're fine."

JASON: "Since their weak spots don't work, it looks like we have to keep pounding these Putties until they stay down. Let's take them down."

TOMMY: "You've got it! Let's get 'em!"

The six Rangers split up and get ready to do battle. Zack is up first. He dodges Z-Putty #3's and he ducks under the Putty #1's high kick. Zack lets loose an uppercut that knocks the Putty back and he follows up with a kick to the chest Z that knocks Z-Putty #1 down to the front lawn. Zack turns, he ducks under Z-Putty #2's spinning back-fist and he knocks the Putty back with a heel kick to the stomach.

Nearby, Kat blocks Z-Putty #3's high punch, she ducks under the next kick and Kat knocks the Putty back with a side kick. Kat follows up with a kick to the chest that knocks Z-Putty #3 down. She turns to face Z-Putty #4, she dodges his right cross and she knocks him back with a kick to the ribs. Kat lets loose a high kick to Z-Putty #4's chest Z and he is knocked to the ground.

Meanwhile, Tommy jumps back over Z-Putty #5's foot-sweep kick and as the Putty stands, Tommy lets loose a spinning heel kick that knocks him down. Tommy turns to face Z-Putty #6 and he dodges the Putty's left cross punch. Tommy knocks Z-Putty #6 back with a kick to the stomach and then he lets loose a foot-sweep kick that trips the Putty and he falls to the ground.

Nearby, Ethan is struck back by Z-Putty #7's kick to his chest. Z-Putty #7 attempts another kick, but Ethan dodges and knocks the Z-Putty down with a kick to the face. Ethan turns around as Z-Putty #8 charges at him. The Z-Putty throws a punch at Ethan, but he catches the Putty's fist and flips Z-Putty #8 over, sending him landing on his back on the grass.

On the driveway, Z-Putty #9 lets loose a foot-sweep kick that Kimberly backflips away from and she lets loose a high kick to the Putty's chest. She turns to see Z-Putty #10 punching at her, but she blocks it and Kimberly lets loose a kick to the stomach that knocks the Putty back. Z-Putty #9 moves in to grab Kimberly, but she dodges and kicks him onto Z-Putty #10. Kimberly smiles at the fallen Putties. Now this was more like it.

On the front lawn, Jason jumps over Z-Putty #11's foot-sweep kick and then he lets loose a kick to the Putty's stomach. Jason follows up with a tornado kick that knocks Z-Putty #11 to the ground and he turns around to see Z-Putty #12 throw a punch at him. Jason dodges, he blocks Z-Putty #12's right cross and he lets loose a spinning back-fist that knocks Z-Putty #12 back.

JASON: "Tommy, heads up, bro!"

Jason lets loose a kick to Z-Putty #12's chest that knocks him back and to Tommy. Tommy lets loose a spinning heel kick that knocks Z-Putty #12 down and he hits the ground. The dozen Z-Putties lie on the ground, defeated. Their bodies glow with white energy, and then they break apart into pieces and vanish. Jason wipes the sweat from his brow with the back of his hand. It'd certainly been a while that fighting Putties had made them break out into a sweat, let alone lasted for this long.

JASON: "Man, it didn't take this long to defeat Zedd's Putties before."

KIMBERLY: "Something must be up."

TOMMY: "We'd better check in with Zordon."

JASON: "Good idea, bro."

He looks around and notices some cars parked in front of the houses. The Z-Putty fight had caused a racket and there was no point in drawing any more attention to their home by teleporting in plain sight on the front lawn.

JASON (CONT'D): "Let's head inside and get to the Command Center."

Jason grabs his keys as the six Rangers head over to the front door of his house.

* * *

Back on the moon, on the palace's balcony, Domminnous looks at the Earth through his telescope. Rita and Zedd stand nearby.

DOMMINNOUS: "Those Rangers finished off your Putties, Zedd, though it took a lot longer than it used it. I commend you on your improved Putties, and for giving me the time to think up the perfect new monster."

ZEDD: "And what might that be?"

DOMMINNOUS: "See for yourself."

Zedd looks at the Earth with his eyebeam and Rita looks with her telescope. Through her telescope, Rita eyes the Multiplex 18 movie theater. The theater has a promo stand of 3-D glasses that reads FREE 3-D GLASSES.

RITA: "It's just a pair of 3-D glasses!"

DOMMINNOUS: "Correction: it WAS just a pair of 3-D glasses! Keep watching!"

Domminnous creates a snow globe-sized orb of purple energy in his right hand. He throws it at the Earth and it heads to the Earth like a meteorite.

The energy orb flies at the promo stand and hits the 3-D glasses picture. The 3-D glasses disappear and appearing standing in front of the promo is a demon-like creature – 3-Demon - with deathly white skin, with a red right eye and a blue left eye. He has black shoulder pads with black spikes, black chest armor strapped onto him, a black belt hooked onto his black shorts, black wrist gauntlets and black knee-high boots. His fingers have black claw-like nails.

3-DEMON: "You guys want a show? I'll give you a show!"

The people in line at the movie theater notice 3-Demon and they run off SCREAMING.

3-DEMON: "Leaving so soon? But you'll miss my big performance!"

3-DEMON LAUGHS at the fleeing bystanders.

* * *

Inside the main room of the Command Center, the six civilian-dressed Rangers stand by the controls and they look at Zordon. They're still a little sweaty from being engaged in their battle with the Z-Putties.

KAT: "Those Putties were a lot tougher than they've ever been before, Zordon."

KIMBERLY: "I know. Jason and I never had to call for back-up to deal with them before."

ZORDON: "Alpha and I did a scan of the Z-Putties during the fight. It appears Lord Zedd's new powers have given the Z-Putties new strength in addition to removing the lone hit to their chest Z weakness."

TOMMY: "That's why we had to keep hitting those clay-brains till they dropped."

ZACK: "Aw, man. Looks like Zedd's finally using that exposed brain of his to correct his mistakes."

ALPHA 5: "The Z-Putties are stronger, but the chest Z remains a weak spot. While it takes longer to defeat them, their energy still depletes faster if you strike the chest Z hard enough and hit it enough times."

The alarms go off. Ethan turns to the Viewing Globe.

TOMMY: "What's going on?"

ETHAN: "Guys, there should be something up on the Viewing Globe."

ALPHA 5: "Ethan is right! We have a visual of a disturbance at the Angel Grove Multiplex 18!"

The Rangers turn and they face the Viewing Globe. On the Viewing Globe, 3-Demon is firing energy beams from his eyes – the beam from his right eye is red and the beam from his left eye is blue.

KAT: "That's one nasty looking demon."

ZORDON: "You are correct, Katherine. The 3-Demon was created by a pair of 3-D glasses from the promotional stand and has the ability to create holographic duplicates of himself."

JASON: "Looks like we're up."

ZORDON: "Use extreme caution, Rangers, and may the Power protect you."

The Rangers reach behind their backs to grab their Power Morphers.

JASON: "It's Morphin Time!"

The Rangers hold out their Power Morphers, they push the red side button and their Morpher cases pop open.

TOMMY: "Dragonzord!"

ZACK: "Mastodon!"

KIMBERLY: "Pterodactyl!"

ETHAN: "Triceratops!"

KAT: "Saber-Toothed Tiger!"

JASON: "Tyrannosaurus!"

A fiery red grid appears over Jason's face and it splits vertically, causing his Red Ranger helmet to materialize over his head.

* * *

Back at the Multiplex, the 3-Demon monster shoots beams from his eyes at fleeing bystanders and he LAUGHS.

3-DEMON: "Isn't anyone going to stick around and enjoy the show?"

Two red energy beams are fired from behind and they hit 3-Demon's back. The monster is knocked to the ground and the six Mighty Morphin Power Rangers head towards the monster. The Blue and Yellow Rangers are holding their Blade Blaster guns.

GREEN RANGER: "The show's over, 3-Demon!"

3-Demon stands up and he turns to face the Rangers.

3-DEMON: "Oh, but the show's just started, Green Ranger! Let me give you a preview of what to expect!"

3-Demon shoots beams of red and blue energy from his eyes and the six Rangers dodge as the beams hit the ground with a shower of sparks. 3-Demon reaches behind his back and he pulls out a white bo staff.

3-DEMON: "You fools can't stop me!"

Red Ranger draws his Blade Blaster and switches it to sword mode. The other Rangers, except Green, switch their Blade Blasters to sword mode as well. Green Ranger holds up his Dragon Dagger.

RED RANGER: "We'll see about that! Let's get him, guys!"

3-Demon charges at the Rangers and the six Rangers return the charge. Black Ranger reaches the monster first. He blocks 3-Demon's staff attack with his Blaster sword, 3-Demon uses his staff to block Black Ranger's sword attack and 3-Demon knocks Black Ranger aside with a hit to his chest. Yellow Ranger moves in, she knocks 3-Demon back with a kick to the chest and she ducks under 3-Demon's staff attack. Yellow Ranger gets up, she slashes her Blaster sword at the monster's chest but he blocks it. 3-Demon hits Yellow Ranger's chest with his bo staff, raising sparks, and she's knocked down.

Pink Ranger moves in to attack next. She lets loose a jump-kick that hits 3-Demon's chest, the monster ducks under her Blaster sword slash attack and she dodges as 3-Demon swats his bo staff at her. 3-Demon hits Pink Ranger's chest with his staff, raising sparks off her suit, and she's knocked down. Blue Ranger moves in and slashes 3-Demon's chest with his Blaster sword. 3-Demon stumbles back, but he recovers and blocks Blue Ranger's next sword attack with his staff. 3-Demon knocks Blue Ranger back with a kick to the stomach and then 3-Demon knocks Blue Ranger down with a hit to the chest from his staff. Green Ranger leaps at 3-Demon and knocks the monster back with a spinning heel kick. 3-Demon blocks Green Ranger's Dragon Dagger attack with his bo staff, then he dodges the next Dagger slash attack and he knocks Green Ranger back by sparkly hitting his Dragon Shield chest armor. Another hit to Green Ranger's chest by 3-Demon's staff knocks Green Ranger to the ground.

Finally, Red Ranger moves in and he slashes his Blade Blaster sword at the monster but he dodges. Red Ranger is rocked back by a hit to his chest by the monster's bo staff, he blocks 3-Demon's next staff attack with his Blaster sword and he sparkly slashes 3-Demon's chest with his sword. Red Ranger lets loose a tornado kick that knocks the monster to the ground. The Rangers gather around their leader as 3-Demon stands up.

3-DEMON: "We're not done yet!"

3-Demon shoots a red beam from his left eye and a blue beam from his right, both of which hit the ground a few feet in front of him. Created from the beams and standing on the ground are two more 3-Demons: a Red 3-Demon and a Blue 3-Demon. They look just like the real one, only the Red 3-Demon is red-skinned instead of white and Blue 3-Demon is blue-skinned.

3-DEMON: "Get them!"

To the Rangers' surprise, the two 3-Demons shoot white energy beams from their eyes that hit the six Rangers and knock them to the ground. The Rangers get up, but are a little off-balance by the sudden beams.

PINK RANGER: "Whoa! I thought Zordon said those things were holograms!"

3-DEMON: "They are, but my special eyebeams make the holograms solid! Let's show them how real you are!"

The three 3-Demon monsters charge at the Rangers. The Rangers split into groups and attack.

The Black and Pink Rangers fight the Blue 3-Demon. Blue 3-Demon dodges Pink Ranger's high kick and he knocks her back with a heel kick to the gut. Black Ranger moves in next and he blocks 3-Demon's high kick. Black Ranger retaliates with a kick to Blue 3-Demon's chest and he sends the monster reeling back with a right hook. When he gets close, Pink Ranger sends 3-Demon back with a sparkly kick to his chest. Blue 3-Demon falls to one knee and the two Rangers aim their Blade Blaster guns at him. They fire beams from their Blasters at Blue 3-Demon and he vanishes.

BLACK RANGER: "All right! That got him!"

Close-by, the Blue and Yellow Rangers fight the Red 3-Demon. Blue Ranger attempts a high kick that Red 3-Demon blocks and he knocks Blue Ranger back with an uppercut. Yellow Ranger attempts a right hook that Red 3-Demon blocks and he knocks her back with a sparkly kick to her chest. Yellow Ranger recovers, she knocks Red 3-Demon back with a kick to the ribs and Blue Ranger knocks him down with a left hook. The two Rangers switch their guns to Blaster mode and they fire beams at Red 3-Demon, making him vanish.

BLUE RANGER: "And good riddance!"

Meanwhile, the Red and Green Rangers fight the real 3-Demon. Red Ranger sparkly slashes his Blade Blaster sword across 3-Demon's chest, sending him reeling back. 3-Demon recovers, he blocks Red Ranger's next slash attempt and knocks him away with a kick to the ribs. Green Ranger tries to slash his Dagger at 3-Demon, but he dodges and sends Green Ranger reeling back with a kick to the head. 3-Demon tries to hit Green Ranger with his staff, but he dodges and knocks 3-Demon back with a spinning heel kick. Green Ranger slashes his Dagger across 3-Demon's chest, raising sparks and knocking the monster to the ground. The other Rangers gather around the Red and Green Rangers.

RED RANGER: "Let's finish this, guys! Assemble Power Blaster!"

OTHER RANGERS: "Right!"

The five Rangers' weapons materialize in their hands in flashes of light matching their respective Ranger color.

BLACK RANGER: "Power Axe!"

He switches his Power Axe to its cannon mode, he tosses it in the air and it hovers in mid-air.

PINK RANGER: "Power Bow!"

She tosses her Bow and it connects to the Axe.

YELLOW RANGERS: "Power Daggers!"

She tosses her Daggers and they connect under the Bow at either side.

BLUE RANGER: "Power Lance!"

He tosses his two Lance halves and they connect under the Bow, next to each Dagger.

GREEN RANGER: "Dragon Dagger!"

He tosses his Dagger at the Axe and it connects to the handle under it, with its bottom end facing forward.

RED RANGER: "Power Sword!"

Red Ranger leaps up to the hovering incomplete Power Blaster. Red Ranger lies his Power Sword down, completing the Power Blaster. He drops down to the ground, holding the Power Blaster in his hands, and the other five Rangers gather around him. The Rangers aim the Power Blaster at 3-Demon.

ALL SIX RANGERS: "Fire!"

The Rangers fire beams from the Power Blaster that hit 3-Demon. THE MONSTER SCREAMS as he falls over, about to explode.

* * *

On the balcony of the palace, Rita, Zedd and Domminnous watch the Earth, livid. The Rangers were winning, and Domminnous was not accustomed to failure.

DOMMINNOUS: "You haven't won yet! Grow, my monster!"

Domminnous' eyes glow with purple energy and the tip of his staff glows with purple energy as well. He aims his staff at the Earth and he fires a purple electrical beam at it, headed right for his fallen monster.

* * *

The electric beam shoots down from the moon, it hits 3-Demon and simultaneously heals the nearly-detonated monster as it causes him to grow giant-sized. The Rangers step back and away from the giant monster.

3-DEMON: "Let's see you stop me now, Rangers!"

3-Demon walks off and into the city, towards the skyscraper district a few miles away.

RED RANGER: "Aw, man! We need Dinozord power, now!"

The Zords emerge from their usual hiding places: the Tyrannosaurus rises from a volcanic pit in one unknown location, the Mastodon marches down from a frozen area in another location, the Triceratops rolls ahead from a desert, the Saber-Toothed Tiger runs away from an unknown jungle, and the Pterodactyl flies out and away from a volcano. The Zords reach Angel Grove and head for the Rangers. Green Ranger nods as he holds up his Dragon Dagger.

GREEN RANGER: "All right! It's time for Dragonzord!"

Green Ranger plays a tune on his Dragon Dagger. Dragonzord rises up from beneath the ocean, it lets out a roars and the Zord walks onto land. The other five Rangers notice the Dinozords running towards them and they leap in the air to the head of their respective Zord, entering the cockpit inside. Red Ranger sits at his control console and he pushes the two red handgrips on his console.

RED RANGER: "Rangers, log on!"

BLACK RANGER: "Zack here, logged on!"

BLUE RANGER: "Ethan here, ready for action!"

YELLOW RANGER: "Kat here, powering up!"

PINK RANGER: "Kimberly here, flying high!"

RED RANGER: "Rangers, power up your Crystals!"

Red Ranger grabs his Power Coin from his Power Morpher belt buckle, he uses it to form his Red Power Crystal and he inserts his Crystal into his control console's outlet. The other four Rangers do the same.

OTHER FOUR RANGERS: "Two, one, mark!"

* * *

Over in the skyscraper district of Angel Grove, 3-Demon has wasted no time attacking the city. 3-Demon shoots eyebeams at one building, making it explode. The monster turns and steps on a parked car on a street, while he kicks another car away like a football. 3-Demon turns and prepares to fire at another building, but he's knocked aside by a tail-whip from Dragonzord. Green Ranger teleports down and he lands on a nearby rooftop.

GREEN RANGER: "Back off, ugly!"

3-DEMON: "As if you can stop me!"

3-Demon kicks Dragonzord's stomach, making the Zord stagger back. 3-Demon holds out his bo staff and swats it at Dragonzord, but the Zord blocks the staff attack and knocks 3-Demon back with a punch from his left hand. The Tyrannosaurus Dinozord approaches from behind and grabs 3-Demon.

3-DEMON: "No! Let me go!"

RED RANGER: "Get him, guys!"

BLUE RANGER: "You've got it! I've got a lock on him!"

In his Zord's control room, Blue Ranger pushes his hands on dual blue buttons. Triceratops rolls forward and fires its dual cannons from its tail, hitting 3-Demon's chest with a shower of sparks. Saber-Toothed Tiger runs ahead and fires a yellow beam from its tail, hitting 3-Demon with a burst of sparks. 3-Demon struggles to get loose, enraged by the attacks.

3-DEMON: "That's enough!"

3-Demon finally gets free of the Tyrannosaurus' grip, he turns around and he knocks the Tyrannosaurus back with a kick to the chest. He then fires beams from his eyes that sparkly hit the Tyrannosaurus' chest and the Zord stumbles back. The Tyrannosaurus follows up with a tail whip that knocks 3-Demon back. The monster doesn't notice the Pterodactyl Dinozord flying around to join the battle.

PINK RANGER: "I've got a clear shot at him!"

The Pterodactyl Dinozord flies down and it shoots blue electric bolts from its shoulder cannons. The bolts hit 3-Demon, raising sparks, and he stumbles back. 3-Demon recovers and he shoots eyebeams at the Pterodactyl. Pink Ranger is shaken in her seat and sparks fly off the Zord from the hit.

RED RANGER: "Leave her alone, 3-Demon!"

The Tyrannosaurus lets loose a tail-whip that knocks the monster to the ground. 3-Demon stands up and he holds his staff.

BLACK RANGER: "Let's get this guy to cool down!"

Black Ranger slides a lever forward and the Mastodon Dinozord sprays an icy mist from its tusk. 3-Demon stumbles back, away from the mist, and he counters by firing eyebeams at the Mastodon. Black Ranger is shaken in his seat as his Zord is hit.

RED RANGER: "We need more power! Let's switch it to Megazord battle mode!"

The Zords, except Dragonzord, are drawn together and form together, as if to form Megazord's tank mode. But instead, the Pterodactyl doesn't join onto the Zords yet. The Tyrannosaurus' head changes to the Megazord's head, the Mastodon's feet switch over to become Megazord's hands and then the Pterodactyl joins to form Megazord's chestplate. Megazord's horns don't connect to its head yet, though.

COMPUTER VOICE: "Megazord sequence has been initiated!"

Megazord stands up and the horns lock onto either side of its head, completing the change into battle mode.

COMPUTER VOICE: "Megazord activated!"

Dragonzord stomps over to join the newly formed Megazord. Megazord and Dragonzord stand side by side, ready to fight. 3-Demon glares at the two Zords with rage.

3-DEMON: "I'll finish you off in no time!"

As before, 3-Demon shoots his eyebeams and he re-creates the Red and Blue 3-Demon copies.

RED RANGER: "All right, guys, let's finish this fight!"

Dragonzord fights with the real 3-Demon. 3-Demon swats its staff at Dragonzord, but it blocks the staff attack and retaliates with a punch to the chest. Dragonzord attempts a tail-whip, but 3-Demon ducks under it and he knocks Dragonzord back with a hit from his staff. 3-Demon hits Dragonzord's chest again with his staff, this time raising sparks.

GREEN RANGER: "Dragonzord, use your missiles!"

Green Ranger plays a tune on his Dagger flute and missiles appear in Dragonzord's fingertips. Dragonzord fires his missiles and they hit 3-Demon with a burst of sparks, knocking the monster down.

Nearby, Megazord fights with the Blue and Red 3-Demons. Megazord blocks Red 3-Demon's high kick and it knocks the monster back with a sparkly punch to the chest. Megazord turns and blocks Blue 3-Demon's right hook. Blue 3-Demon lets loose a high kick that knocks Megazord back and Blue 3-Demon sends Megazord reeling back with a punch to its face. The five Rangers are shaken as Megazord stumbles back.

YELLOW RANGER: "We need to hit him harder!"

BLACK RANGER: "I've got just the thing! Mammoth Shield!"

The Mammoth Head Shield appears over Megazord's left hand. Blue 3-Demon kicks at Megazord, but it blocks with the Mammoth Shield and Megazord counters with a punch to 3-Demon's face. Megazord turns to see Red 3-Demon punch at him, but Megazord blocks it and retaliates by sparkly striking Red 3-Demon's chest with the Shield. Red 3-Demon falls to the floor and vanishes. Megazord turns and sees Blue 3-Demon punch at Megazord. Megazord blocks the punch, but is knocked back by a kick to the chest. Megazord fires its cranial laser at Blue 3-Demon, knocking the monster down and causing it to vanish.

Close-by, Dragonzord blocks 3-Demon's high kick and it knocks the monster back with a kick to the stomach. 3-Demon strikes Dragonzord's face with its staff and then it sparkly hits Dragonzord's chest, making the Zord stumble back. Megazord approaches from behind, it grabs 3-Demon and throws the monster away. 3-Demon hits the ground rolling and then the monster stands up.

3-DEMON: "I'm through playing around!"

RED RANGER: "We need to finish this! We need the Mega Power Sword, now!"

The Power Sword drops from the sky and lands stabbed in the ground. Megazord grabs it with his right hand, it pulls the sword out of the ground and it holds it up.

3-DEMON: "I can still finish you all off!"

3-Demon swats at Megazord with its staff, but Megazord blocks the attack and slices the staff in half with the Power Sword. Megazord knocks 3-Demon back with a kick to the chest and the monster clutches his chest angrily.

3-DEMON: "Why, you rotten..."

GREEN RANGER: "Finish him, guys!"

RED RANGER: "You've had it!"

The five Rangers let out KARATE YELLS as they simultaneously karate chop their right hands down. Megazord lifts up the Power Sword, it is charged by reddish-white lightning bolts that fire from the sky, and then Megazord slashes the Power Sword down. The Sword strike hits 3-Demon, making 3-DEMON SCREAM as his body is charged with energy. 3-Demon falls over and he is destroyed in a massive explosion. The Rangers CHEER their victory.

* * *

Back at the Lunar Palace, Domminnous storms off the balcony and into the throne room, livid by the Rangers' victory. His eyes glow with purple energy and a fiery purple aura of energy burns around his body. Baboo and Squatt cower in fear at the sight of the angry Domminnous, while Rita and Zedd walk in from the balcony to join Domminnous.

DOMMINNOUS: "Another failure! I can't believe it!"

BABOO: "Oh, he doesn't look so good!"

RITA: "Oh, calm down, Domminnous, before you burn down the whole palace! So you lost, big deal! Welcome to the club!"

Domminnous glares at Rita as his fiery aura slowly fades away.

DOMMINNOUS: "I don't care how long it takes! One day, I will make the Power Rangers pay for foiling my plans! I swear it!"

* * *

Inside Room 6 of the Multiplex, Jason and Kimberly are already seated in chairs near the back row. The two are now dressed in T-shirts, jeans and sneakers and Kimberly has on an unbuttoned blue overshirt. They have their large soda cups in holsters on their arm chairs and a large bag of popcorn is held in Jason's hands. The two glance at one another and exchange smiles. There were only a few empty seats left in the audience.

KIMBERLY: "You didn't mind seeing the 2-D version of the movie instead, did you?"

JASON: "No, I don't mind. After what happened earlier, I'm surprised you still wanted to go to the theater."

KIMBERLY: "Hey, after what happened earlier, I'm surprised the theater stayed open. Besides, we both wanted to see this and there's no point in letting Rita and Zedd spoil our fun."

JASON: "Hey, as long as I've got you at my side, nothing can spoil my fun."

Kimberly smiles at Jason and holds his hand.

KIMBERLY: "Aw, you're so sweet. I hope the others are having a good night too."

JASON: "Hey, after the day we've had, we all need a good rest. Would you like some popcorn?"

KIMBERLY: "Sure, thanks. Hope you like the movie."

JASON: "You too, Kim."

Kimberly grabs a handful of popcorn from Jason's popcorn bag. She puts a few popcorn pieces in her mouth and eats them as the lights start to dim.

* * *

In the garage of the Command Center, Ionisos, wearing his leather uniform, and Dulcea, in her Amazonian outfit, are hard at work on a large motorcycle. Alpha 5 enters the room and he looks on as they work.

ALPHA 5: "How are the installments coming along?"

IONISOS: "We've almost got one finished. We will install the weapons and then we'll work on two more."

ALPHA 5: "I can't wait to see what the Power Rangers think about our new surprises against the monsters they'll soon face."

Dulcea fixes some of the wiring in the motorcycle.

DULCEA: "It shouldn't take too much longer constructing the new vehicles."

ALPHA 5: "Ooh, this is so exciting! Hey, what does this button do?"

IONISOS: "No, wait, we haven't finished-!"

But by then, Alpha 5 had already pushed a black button on the side of the motorcycle. One of the hidden compartments opens up on the side of the motorcycle and a burst of sparks fly out of the open compartment. Dulcea moves back as a compartment opens on her side of the cycle and shoots out sparks. The sparks make two of the wires fall our and one of the handle bars falls off the motorcycle.

ALPHA 5: "Sorry. Ay yi yi!"

Dulcea just smiles at Alpha 5 and she shakes her head. Completing the motorcycle might take a little longer to finish than she previously thought.


	3. Chapter 3 Hypnotized by Hypnos-Hiss

On Thursday, July 10th, inside the Plaza, Jason and Zack are in Zack's empty dance classroom and both men are wearing workout clothes. Zack sets down the last training mat on the floor and he looks over at Jason.

JASON: "So what time does your next class start?"

ZACK: "In about ten minutes, same time as yours. Man, I can't wait till lunch. I'm getting hungry."

JASON: "Yeah, me too. Did you want to join me and the gang for lunch?"

ZACK: "Yeah, of course. I'd better finish setting up before my next class starts. Later, Jase."

JASON: "Later, Zack."

Zack smiles as Jason walks out. Zack is about to finish up, when he hears a double knock on the door. He turns around and smiles, pleasantly surprised, as Angela walks in. She's wearing workout clothes of her own.

ZACK: "Angela!"

ANGELA: "Hi, Zack. Do you have a minute?"

ZACK: "Yeah, sure. What's up?"

ANGELA: "I was going to meet up with a friend to hang out and have lunch, but she just called and said she had to cancel. I was wondering if you'd like to go out and have lunch with me instead."

ZACK: "Aw, man, would I?"

Zack suddenly tries to hide his excitement. He smiles and nods.

ZACK: "I mean, yeah, sure. I'd love to."

ANGELA: "Great. I'll see you after I finish my next class. See you later, Zack."

ZACK: "Later."

Angela walks out of the room. Zack pulls his fist back hard, giving the "yes" sign with his hand.

ZACK: "All right! Morphinomenal!"

He quickly grabbed his phone and dialed to leave a message to Jason about his new lunch plans.

* * *

On the balcony of the Lunar Palace, Domminnous watches Earth through his telescope. He smiles. Rita and Zedd also stand in attendance on the balcony.

DOMMINNOUS: "How sweet. Zackary has just got a lunch date planned."

RITA: "Ugh! There's nothing worse than seeing one of those Power Brats happy!"

Domminnous looks at the others.

DOMMINNOUS: "How very true, Rita. I think I'll come up with a new monster to send down to ruin their plans, one that will make sure those Rangers won't be a bother to us much longer."

* * *

Back at the Angel Grove Plaza, a blonde woman walks away from her parked black Toyota Camry and over to the front doors of the Juice Bar and Diner.

* * *

Inside the Juice Bar, Bulk and Skull are at the bar with their waitress Margaret, tending to the hungry customers seated on the bar stools. Jason, Kimberly, Kat, Ethan and Dulcea are seated at a table for six and they're eating lunch. Kimberly and Ethan are in workout clothes, though Kimberly has on an unbuttoned, long-sleeved purple over-shirt. Kat is in a ballet outfit, having come from her ballet class, and Dulcea is wearing a buttoned-up business suit. Dulcea smiles at her friends. After all, this was the first time she'd seen her friends outside of the Command Center on a friendlier basis. She glanced at their food for a moment. Jason has a cheeseburger, fries, salad and large soda. Kimberly has a salad, sliced ham, potatoes and a large glass of milk. Ethan has a plate of mashed potatoes with a three-piece meal of fried chicken and a large cup of soda. Kat has a bowl of fruit, a bowl of tomato soup, a bowl of potato chips and a large cup of soda. All of it looked so strange to her, so... well, alien. But as she looked at her own food - her bowl of salad with ranch dressing, her bowl of macaroni and cheese, her plate of steak and her cup of milk - she smiled. She could certainly get used to eating Earth food.

ETHAN: "Hey, thanks for joining us for lunch, Miss Kamps."

Dulcea looks at Ethan and she smiles. She was starting to get used to being called by her alias and it was starting to grow on her.

DULCEA: "You're very welcome. I have to admit, some of this food is quite delicious. I've never tasted anything quite like this back home."

ETHAN: (voice lowered) "Exactly what kind of food did you eat on Phaedos, Dulcea?"

DULCEA: "Mostly fruits. There are a dozen kinds of berries, but only a third of them are safe to eat. Having a handful of grinkles made for a good snack, though."

KAT: "Grinkles? What are those?"

Dulcea looks at her friends, surprised they don't know what she's talking about.

DULCEA: "You know, grinkles."

She has her left hand facing palm down above her right by about five inches.

DULCEA (CONT'D): "About this long, white, dripping with a mild green slime coating. They look similar to your earthworms, only they have bright green eyes."

Kimberly drops her fork into her bowl of salad and she looks disgusted.

KIMBERLY: "Well, that officially grossed me out."

Dulcea smiles at Kimberly, fondly remembering one of her favorite snacks back on her home planet.

DULCEA: "I think you'd actually love them. When you bite into them, they're actually quite crispy, kind of like your potato chips. And when that slime drips down your throat..."

Kimberly quickly puts her right hand up in the stop motion and quickly covers her mouth with the left to keep from retching. The other Rangers look grossed out as well, much to Dulcea's confusion.

DULCEA: "Is she all right?"

KAT: "Sorry, she's just not too fond of the taste of slimy worms."

DULCEA: "I'm sorry, I didn't know. It's a shame you don't have them, though."

She looks at her watch and she notices the time. Dulcea looks back at the Rangers.

DULCEA: "This has been fun, but I'm afraid I must get back to the office. I'll meet up with you all later."

KAT: "Sure. See you later."

Dulcea smiles and she waves as she rises from her seat. Dulcea walks off and down the room. Kimberly looks at Jason, a little pale. She was still feeling a little queasy after Dulcea's fond description she found far too vivid and gross for her taste.

KIMBERLY: "I'd better get back to class too. Hearing about slimy worm snacks kind of made me lose my appetite. I'll see you guys later tonight."

JASON: "Sure. See you later, Kim."

Kimberly stands up, she turns and she walks off down the room. Ethan watches as Kimberly leaves and then he looks at Jason as he picks up his fried chicken drumstick to resume eating.

ETHAN: "Well, I hope Zack's having fun on his lunch date with Angela."

JASON: "I know. He was so excited to see her again. I just hope their time together doesn't get interrupted."

Ethan nods, knowing exactly what Jason means, and he takes a bite out of his drumstick.

* * *

Elsewhere, a few miles away from the Plaza, Zack and Angela are seated at a table for two inside the Levy Diner. Zack has a plate of meatloaf and a salad in front of him, while Angela has a plate of spaghetti and a bowl of salad in front of her. Zack shrugs at Angela sheepishly.

ZACK: "Sorry. I tried to call a fancier place like Danielson's, but they were all booked."

ANGELA: "It's all right, Zack. I like this place just fine."

Zack smiles and nods at her. He wasn't about to disagree with her. After all, meatloaf was his favorite food.

ZACK: "It's great seeing you again. How's your day been so far?"

ANGELA: "Pretty good, thanks. Yours?"

Zack smiles at Angela.

ZACK: "I'd say it's pretty good right about now."

Angela smiles and gets a forkful of her salad.

ZACK: "Thanks for the lunch date, Angela. This has been such a cool day so far, I don't think anything could spoil it."

* * *

On the Lunar Palace balcony, Domminnous, Rita and Zedd are looking at Earth. Zedd watches through his red telescopic eyebeam.

ZEDD: "Oh, don't be so sure, Black Ranger. I'm quite sure we can come up with something quite nasty to spoil this day!"

DOMMINNOUS: "You two have known the Rangers a lot longer than I have. What are some of the Black Ranger's major dislikes, his own fears?"

RITA: "Well, I know for sure he hates bugs, especially spiders. He's also afraid of snakes too."

Domminnous grins and he rubs his chin.

DOMMINNOUS: "Snakes, hmm? I think I've got the perfect idea for my new monster."

Domminnous walks up and he looks at Earth through his telescope.

DOMMINNOUS: "Zedd, I need some time to find my monster. Would you mind sending down some Z-Putties for the Rangers to play with while I make my next move?"

ZEDD: "With pleasure. I'll even send Goldar, Rito and Scorpina to keep them company."

RITA: "Good! Now they can stop whining about being cooped up and they can go out to destroy the Rangers!"

Domminnous smiles wickedly at Rita. A plan had just come to mind, one that would much sweeter than seeing those Rangers six feet under.

DOMMINNOUS: "Why, Rita, you misunderstand. I don't want to destroy them. I've thought of something better, far worse for them."

* * *

Back in the Juice Bar, Ethan and Kat are still seated at a table and are finishing their lunch. Jason walks back from the bar to their table.

ETHAN: "Thanks for the lunch, Jason."

JASON: "It's no problem."

KAT: "Hey, guys."

Jason notices Kat is looking at the doorway with a frown. Jason turns around as he sees Kimberly look in from the doorway. She is pointing at her communicator. The three exchange grim looks and they walk across the room to join Kimberly.

KIMBERLY: "Zordon contacted me once I got back to my class. Something's up, guys."

JASON: "Let's check it out."

The four Rangers look around and Zack nods at Jason.

ETHAN: "We're clear."

The four Rangers tap their communicators, entering their coordinates, and then they are teleported out of the hall.

* * *

The Rangers beam into the main control room of the Command Center, where they are met by the blaring sounds of the alarm. As the Rangers grimace from the alarms, Alpha 5 is working on the eastern control console and Zordon watches the Viewing Globe.

ALPHA 5: "Ay yi yi! This is terrible!"

JASON: "What's going on?"

ZORDON: "Rangers, there's been an attack at downtown Angel Grove. Behold the Viewing Globe."

On the Viewing Globe, the Rangers can see Rito, Scorpina and Goldar are attacking innocent bystanders in a business center at downtown Angel Grove. Other fleeing citizens are being chased away by a band of Z-Putties.

ZORDON: "According to our sensors, none of the bystanders have been hurt, yet. But with Goldar, Rito and Scorpina leading the Putties, I fear it may be a diversion until a new monster is sent down."

KIMBERLY: "We'd better get down there before someone does get hurt."

KAT: "Should we alert Zack and Tommy?"

ETHAN: "Zack's still on his lunch date with Angela. He seemed so excited, I'd hate to ruin that for him."

ZORDON: "Tommy is in the middle of teaching a class at Angel Grove High. If he's needed, Ionisos will go get him to join you."

JASON: "We'll let Tommy and Zack stay where they are. We can handle this."

ZORDON: "Be careful, Rangers, and may the Power protect you."

Jason stands in front of the others and they reach behind their backs for their Power Morphers.

JASON: "It's Morphin' Time!"

The Rangers hold out their Power Morphers, they push the red side button and their Morpher cases pop open.

KIMBERLY: "Pterodactyl!"

ETHAN: "Triceratops!"

KAT: "Saber-Toothed Tiger!"

JASON: "Tyrannosaurus!"

A fiery red grid appears over Jason's face and it splits vertically, creating his Red Ranger helmet over his head.

* * *

Rito shoots red electricity out of his eyes, which barely misses a fleeing couple and it hits a bench instead. The bench explodes from the blast and RITO LAUGHS.

RITO: "Those Power Pukes sure are taking their sweet time getting here! I think we need to cause more trouble to lure them out!"

Three beams of red energy are shot, they sparkly hit Rito's chest and ribs, and RITO GRUNTS as he stumbles back from the hits. The four morphed Power Rangers run up from down the sidewalk, each holding their Blade Blaster guns.

RED RANGER: "You wanted us, Rito? You got us!"

RITO: "Only four of 'em? Oh, well!"

Rito is joined from behind by six Z-Putties, Goldar and Scorpina. Goldar and Scorpina hold up their weapons.

RITO: "You're just in time to join the party! Let's get 'em!"

The two sides charge ahead to do battle.

Pink Ranger fights with three Z-Putties. Z-Putty #1 lets loose a high kick, but she ducks and trips the Putty with a foot-sweep kick. Pink Ranger turns around, she dodges Putty #2's high kick and she knocks it aside with a kick to the ribs. Pink Ranger sees Z-Putty #3 charging at her, but then Pink Ranger handsprings towards the charging Putty and as she lands, she lets loose a heel kick to its stomach.

Yellow Ranger blocks Z-Putty #4's left hook, then she jumps over its foot-sweep kick and she knocks the Putty down with a spinning heel kick. Yellow Ranger turns to see Scorpina leap and slash her sword, sparkly striking Yellow Ranger's chest. She stumbles back and Scorpina attempts another strike, but Yellow Ranger dodges and she lets loose a high kick. Scorpina blocks the kick and sparkly slashes Yellow Ranger's chest again.

Z-Putty #5 lets loose a right cross at Blue Ranger, but he catches the Putty's arm and flips him over. Blue Ranger kicks the fallen Z-Putty on the chest Z, sending him rolling away down the sidewalk. Blue Ranger turns to see Rito charge at him. Rito slashes his sword at Blue Ranger, but he dodges it and knocks Rito back with a kick to the ribs. Blue Ranger lets loose a spinning heel kick and he knocks Rito down.

Red Ranger lets loose a tornado kick that knocks Z-Putty #6 aside and he turns around to see Goldar slash his sword. Sparks fly off Red Ranger's chest and he stumbles back from the strike. Goldar tries again, but Red Ranger dodges and he switches his Blade Blaster to sword mode. He blocks Goldar's next slash attempt, but he is knocked back by a kick to the stomach. Goldar slashes his sword at Red Ranger's chest, but he blocks the blade with his Blaster sword. Red Ranger pushes the blade back, he sparkly slashes Goldar's chest with his Blaster sword and Goldar stumbles back. Red Ranger then lets loose a jump-kick that knocks Goldar down and he hits the ground rolling.

* * *

On the palace's balcony, Domminnous creates an orb of purple energy in his open right hand, which grows to the size of a snow globe.

DOMMINNOUS: "There! I've found what I need for my new monster... Hypnos-Hiss!"

Domminnous laughs as he throws his energized orb and it flies towards the Earth like a meteorite.

* * *

The energy orb strikes a display case of a snake in the pet store's window. The snake is charged with purple energy and then it grows giant-sized, taking the form of a man-sized snake with human legs and arms. The scaly snake creature has purple eyes, wrist gauntlets, knee-high boots, and holds a staff with a cobra's head at the top end. The Hypnos-Hiss monster laughs.

HYPNOS-HISS: "I'll take care of those Rangers for you, master!"

The monster vanishes into thin air, teleporting away.

* * *

Back at the business center, Pink Ranger knocks Z-Putty #3 down and it lies on the ground near the other two defeated Putties. The Z-Putties' bodies glow with white light and then they break apart into pieces.

PINK RANGER: "That looks like the last of the Putties!"

Pink Ranger is shot in the back by a beam of purple energy and sparks fly off her suit as she stumbles forward. Pink Ranger turns around to see Hypnos-Hiss standing several feet behind her. The other Rangers regroup around Pink Ranger.

HYPNOS-HISS: "Ah, just the Rangers I've been looking for! The name is Hypnos-Hiss, and I'm here to recruit you into the services of my master, Lord Domminnous!"

RED RANGER: "We'll never serve Domminnous!"

HYPNOS-HISS: "As if you have a choice!"

Hypnos-Hiss aims his staff at the Rangers and he fires a purple beam from it that hits the ground, erupting in a shower of sparks. The Rangers are knocked off their feet and they hit the ground. Red Ranger reaches behind his back, his Power Sword appears in his hand in a burst of red light, and he holds it out in front of him. The other four Rangers grab their respective Power Weapons as well.

HYPNOS-HISS: "If you can't beat us, join us!"

Hypnos-Hiss fires swirling purple energy beams from his staff and the Yellow and Blue Rangers manage to dodge. However, the beams hit the Red and Pink Rangers. The two Rangers grunt as the beams hit them and they stumble back.

YELLOW RANGER: "Oh, no! Kimberly! Jason!"

Red and Pink Rangers stumble back, as if dazed. The two Rangers recover and they turn to their teammates.

HYPNOS-HISS: "My hypno-beam missed them! Grab them!"

RED AND PINK RANGERS: "Yes, master."

The two Rangers charge their friends to attack, but the Yellow and Blue Rangers dodge.

BLUE RANGER: "No, wait! Stop!"

Red Ranger sparkly slashes Blue Ranger across the chest with his Power Sword, while Pink Ranger sparkly hits Yellow Ranger's chest with the end of her bow. The two Rangers are knocked back, stunned.

HYPNOS-HISS: "Yes! YES!"

Rito, Goldar and Scorpina jump in and join the two hypnotized Rangers from behind.

SCORPINA: "Remember us?"

Scorpina and Goldar cross their sword and shoot bolts of yellow and red energy from them. The bolts hit the Yellow and Blue Rangers, knocking them down with a burst of sparks. Hypnos-Hiss bursts out laughing and the two hypnotized Rangers approach to attack again.

* * *

Back in the Command Center, Zordon and Alpha 5 watch the hypnotized Rangers attacking their friends on the Viewing Globe.

ALPHA 5: "Ay yi yi! What are we going to do, Zordon?"

ZORDON: "We have no choice. Alpha, contact Tommy and Zack immediately. I'll run a scan to see if I can find a way to break the hypnotic spell on the Rangers."

ALPHA 5: "Right away, Zordon."

* * *

At his classroom in the Angel Grove High School, Tommy is seated at his desk, wearing a long-sleeved shirt, jeans and sneakers. He looks at his handful of students in his class. They're still writing on their test papers.

TOMMY: "You have twenty minutes left to finish, you guys."

There is a knock on the door and Tommy turns as the door opens. Ionisos steps in, wearing a business suit and blue neck tie. He points at his communicator on his wrist.

IONISOS: "Mr. Oliver, you're needed in the front office."

Tommy frowns. This was the first time he was being called away during school hours to deal with trouble.

TOMMY: "All right. I'll be right there."

He turns to his class, forcing a smile.

TOMMY: "I'll be right back, class."

Tommy gets up and he walks to the doorway.

* * *

Back at the Levy Diner, Zack walks with Angela to the front entry/exit doors.

ZACK: "That was a great lunch."

ANGELA: "Yeah, it was. You know, Zack, I was wondering if..."

Zack's communicator goes off. He grimaces and Angela notices his communicator watch.

ZACK: "Sorry. It's my beeper, from work."

ANGELA: "That's funny. It sounded an awful lot like your popcorn alarm."

Zack smiles at her, smitten.

ZACK: "From our first date at the movies. You remembered."

ANGELA: "How could I forget? You left me for most of that date."

Zack frowns. He remembered that date very well. After all, it did end with his bucket of popcorn being dumped over his head and Angela angrily storming out of the movie theater.

ZACK: "Yeah, I know. I'm sorry. I'd love to stay put, but I've really got to go. I'll catch up with you later, okay?"

Angela shakes her head, looking unsure.

ANGELA: "I don't know."

His communicator beeps again. Zack frowns.

ZACK: "I'll make it up to you, I promise. I've got to get going. Thanks again."

Zack heads out the door and leaves Angela alone. She watches Zack leave and she frowns.

ANGELA: "Same old Zack."

* * *

A few moments later, Zack and Tommy beam into the Command Center. They look over at Zordon in concern.

ZACK: "What's the emergency, Zordon?"

ZORDON: "Domminnous has sent down a new monster that has hypnotized Jason and Kimberly. Observe the Viewing Globe."

Tommy and Zack turn to the Viewing Globe, watching the Blue and Yellow Rangers dodging attacks.

ZORDON: "The Hypnos-Hiss monster has special hypnotic beams he fires from his eyes. He is attempting to place all of you under his control to serve Rita, Zedd and Domminnous."

ZACK: "Let's get down there."

TOMMY: "Not so fast. How do we make sure we don't get hypnotized too? How do we break the hypnotic spell on Jason and Kimberly?"

Alpha 5 looks over at his control panel as the computer beeps. A sheet of paper emerges from the printer and Alpha 5 takes it in his hands.

ALPHA 5: "We have a printout. It seems the best way to reverse the hypnosis spell is to break Hypnos-Hiss's staff."

ZORDON: "But be careful, Rangers. If you are hit with the hypnotic beam from the staff, you will be stuck under the monster's spell."

ZACK: "We understand, Zordon. We'll go stop that slimy snake!"

Zack and Tommy grab their Morphers from behind their backs.

TOMMY: "It's Morphin Time!"

Tommy and Zack hold out their Power Morphers, they push the red side button with their thumbs and their Morpher cases pop open.

TOMMY: "Dragonzord!"

ZACK: "Mastodon!"

* * *

At the business center, the newly-morphed Green and Black Rangers flip down from the sky and they let loose jump-kicks that hit Goldar and Scorpina on the chest. The duo stumble back and the Green and Black Rangers turn to the Blue and Yellow Rangers.

BLUE RANGER: "Man, are we glad to see you guys!"

YELLOW RANGER: "Behind you!"

The Black and Green Rangers turn to see the Red and Pink Rangers charge. Red Ranger slashes his Power Sword at Black Ranger, but he grabs his Power Axe from behind his back and uses it to stop the blade of Red Ranger's Sword. Simultaneously, Green Ranger draws his Dragon Dagger and uses it to block Pink Ranger's strike with her Power Bow.

BLACK RANGER: "Don't fight me, Jase!"

GREEN RANGER: "Kim, don't do this! I'm your friend!"

Pink Ranger knocks him back with a kick to the gut and she sparkly slashes Green Ranger's Dragon Shield armor. Red Ranger head-butts Black Ranger, making him stumble back, and he knocks him down as he sparkly slashes his chest with his Power Sword.

GREEN RANGER: "Guys, break Hypnos-Hiss's staff! It's the only way to break the spell!"

HYPNOS-HISS: "You want my staff? Come get it!"

BLUE RANGER: "With pleasure!"

Blue Ranger charges at the monster and Yellow Ranger tries to grab his arm, but she misses.

YELLOW RANGER: "Ethan, wait! It's a trick!"

Just as Yellow Ranger shouts her warning, Hypnos-Hiss fires a beam from his staff that hits Blue Ranger and he grunts as the hit makes him stumble back. Rito and Goldar grab Yellow Ranger by her arms from behind and she struggles to get loose.

RITO: "Hey, snake-boy! You missed one!"

YELLOW RANGER: "No, let me go!"

GREEN RANGER: "Kat! No!"

Just as Hypnos-Hiss aims his staff at Yellow Ranger, Black Ranger simultaneously switches his Blade Blaster to gun mode.

BLACK RANGER: "Allow me!"

Black Ranger shoots a beam from his gun that sparkly hits Hypnos-Hiss's chest. The monster drops his staff and he stumbles back. Black Ranger runs over to get it, but Blue Ranger stands in front of him and he knocks Black Ranger back with a spinning heel kick. Black Ranger recovers, holding up his Power Axe in his right hand and his Blaster gun in the other.

BLACK RANGER: "Step aside, man. Don't do this!"

Blue Ranger holds up his Power Lance from behind his back and he charges at Black Ranger to battle. Yellow Ranger struggles to get loose, while Green Ranger is simultaneously dodging the attacks of the Red and Pink Rangers. Scorpina moves in, she leaps at Green Ranger and slashes her sword at him, but he blocks it with his Dagger. Green Ranger is knocked aside by a kick to his side by Pink Ranger and is knocked back by a strike from Red Ranger's Power Sword. Hypnos-Hiss has recovered and is walking to retrieve his weapon.

HYPNOS-HISS: "It's your turn now!"

YELLOW RANGER: "No, I won't let you!"

Yellow Ranger steps on Rito's foot, making him let her arm go, and she uses her free right fist to punch Goldar in the face. Goldar lets go and Yellow Ranger leaps at Hypnos-Hiss, tackling him and sending both to the ground. While Yellow Ranger fights the monster, Black Ranger dodges Blue Ranger's high kick. He blocks Blue Ranger's Lance attack with his Axe and he sees the fallen staff on the ground.

BLACK RANGER: "I've got to reach it!"

BLUE RANGER: "You won't get it! All hail Lord Domm-"

Black Ranger knocks him back with a kick to the stomach and he leaps aside. There was no way Zack could let his friend and roommate finish saying such a rotten thing, spell or no spell. He holsters his Blaster gun as he grabs the fallen staff with his left hand.

BLACK RANGER: "Sorry, buddy, but you'll thank me for this."

HYPNOS-HISS: "Stop him!"

But just as Hypnos-Hiss shouts it, it's already too late. Black Ranger gives a karate yell as he smashes the head of the staff on the ground, shattering it. Energy swirls briefly warp around the head of Blue Ranger and he stumbles back, broken free from the spell.

Nearby, the Red and Pink Rangers hold Green Ranger by his arms. Energy swirls briefly warp around the two Rangers' head and they let go of Green Ranger's arms. Red and Pink Rangers stumble back, dazed at being released from the hypnotic spell.

PINK RANGER: "Whoa? What just happened?"

GREEN RANGER: "All right, it worked! Good job, Zack!"

SCORPINA: "I'll finish you off!"

Scorpina moves in to attack, but Green Ranger lets loose a kick to the chest that knocks her back. Red Ranger knocks her down with a high punch and he turns to Green Ranger.

RED RANGER: "Sorry, bro. I didn't -"

He stops as he sees Hypnos-Hiss fighting Yellow Ranger. Black Ranger is fighting with Goldar and Blue Ranger is dueling Rito.

RED RANGER: "Oh, man!"

Hypnos-Hiss whips his tail at Yellow Ranger's feet to trip her, but she backflips over it. She lets loose a jump-kick that knocks the monster back a few steps. Hypnos-Hiss recovers, he blocks Yellow Ranger's high kick and he knocks her back with a kick to the stomach. Hypnos-Hiss flicks its black forked tongue and the whip-long tongue sparkly hits Yellow Ranger's chest. Yellow Ranger stumbles back from the hit.

PINK RANGER: "Back off!"

Pink Ranger holds up her Power Bow and she fires out three arrows, which strike Hypnos-Hiss' side and he stumbles aside. Pink Ranger leaps in the air, putting three arrows in her bow that glow with pink energy, and she fires the energized arrows. The arrows hit Hypnos-Hiss with pink sparks and he stumbles back.

Meanwhile, Blue Ranger dodges Rito's sword slash attack and then he knocks Rito back with a high kick. Black Ranger is sparkly struck back by Goldar's sword slash to his chest, but he recovers and dodges another sword slash attempt. Black Ranger knocks Goldar back with a high kick and then the two Rangers simultaneously knock their opponents back with a high kick. Goldar and Rito bump into each other back to back and they hit the ground. Green Ranger kicks Scorpina back and she falls next to Rito and Goldar.

GREEN RANGER: "Good job, now we've got all of the Three Stooges rounded up!"

The three fallen foes stand up and look at the Rangers angrily.

SCORPINA: "Why, you..."

She is interrupted as Red Ranger jump-kicks Hypnos-Hiss and he knocks him against Rito and Goldar. The other Rangers regroup, joining the Green, Blue and Black Rangers. The five Rangers hold up their Power Weapons and Green Ranger holds up his Dagger.

RED RANGER: "This fight's gone on long enough! Rangers, assemble the Power Blaster!"

OTHER RANGERS: "Right!"

The Rangers prepare to combine their weapons.

BLACK RANGER: "Power Axe!"

He switches his Power Axe to its cannon mode, he tosses it in the air and it hovers in mid-air.

PINK RANGER: "Power Bow!"

She tosses her Bow and it connects to the Axe.

YELLOW RANGERS: "Power Daggers!"

She tosses her Daggers and they connect under the Bow at either side.

BLUE RANGER: "Power Lance!"

He tosses his two halves of his Lance and they connect under the Bow, next to each Dagger.

GREEN RANGER: "Dragon Dagger!"

He tosses his Dagger at the Axe and it connects to the hidden small handle under the Axe's handle, with the Dagger's bottom end facing forward.

RED RANGER: "Power Sword!"

Red Ranger leaps into the air to the hovering incomplete Power Blaster. Red Ranger lies his Power Sword down on top and he completes the Power Blaster. He drops down to the ground, holding the Power Blaster in both hands, and the other five Rangers gather around him. The Rangers aim the Power Blaster at Hypnos-Hiss.

RITO: "Uh-oh! Those that fight and run away, live... eh, you know the rest!"

GOLDAR: "Shut up and run! This isn't over, Rangers!"

Goldar, Rito and Scorpina vanish, teleporting away. Hypnos-Hiss staggers back.

HYPNOS-HISS: "Why, you..."

ALL SIX RANGERS: "Lock on and fire!"

The Rangers fire the Power Blaster and the six beams hit Hypnos-Hiss. The monster screams as the beams knock him down and then he vanishes in an explosion, destroyed.

* * *

On the Lunar Palace's balcony, Domminnous looks away angrily, his eyes burning with purple energy and his body glows with a fiery purple aura.

DOMMINNOUS: "No! NO! Not again!"

Domminnous storms off the balcony and into the throne room. Domminnous walks further into the throne room and Rita and Zedd walk into the throne room to join him.

DOMMINNOUS: "I could've had those Rangers under my monster's control, to follow my orders and take over Angel Grove!"

ZEDD: "Of course you mean 'our' orders, don't you, Domminnous?"

Domminnous looks at Zedd and Rita, making his hands into fists.

DOMMINNOUS: "Just a slip of the tongue from anger, old friend. Hypnos-Hiss could've had the Rangers on our side, destroying the Command Center and beating up Zordon and that little tin can of a robot assistant! I will not fail the next time! The Rangers will..."

Rita pushes Zedd aside as she walks to and by Domminnous. She interrupts him as she pushes him aside too. Domminnous watches her walk by and his surprise of being pushed aside makes his fiery aura vanish.

RITA: "Shut up! I need some aspirin! Your stupidity - both of yours - is giving me a headache!"

* * *

Back at the Plaza, towards 6 P.M. at night, Zack stands in his dance class and he has just finished his class. His dozen students walk out of the room, one after the other.

ZACK: "See you tomorrow, guys! Great job today!"

Zack walks over to the east side of the room and he grabs his gym bag. He hears a double-knock on the door and he turns around. Jason and Kimberly walk into the room and they smile.

JASON: "Hey, Zack."

ZACK: "Hi, guys. What's up?"

KIMBERLY: "We just wanted to drop in and say thanks for getting us out of that trance."

JASON: "We also wanted to apologize for fighting with you guys."

ZACK: "There's no need to. You guys weren't yourselves."

KIMBERLY: "How'd your lunch date go?"

ZACK: "It went very well, actually. Well, up until the end when I had to skip out on her next offer to go out. Just when we were getting close, I bail on her. Again."

Zack frowns. It was just like high school all over again. Jason gives him a reassuring smile.

JASON: "Don't worry about it. You and Angela are just reconnecting. You guys have plenty of chances to catch up again."

ZACK: "Yeah. By the way, Tommy and Kat invited us to go to the beach this Saturday. You guys in?"

JASON: "Sounds like fun. What do you think, Kim?"

Kimberly forces a smile.

KIMBERLY: "Yeah, sure. That sounds like fun. I'm just going to grab my bag from my class and be right back, okay?"

JASON: "Yeah, sure."

Jason and Zack watch as Kimberly walks out of the room. Jason watches her leave and he looks concerned.

* * *

Kimberly walks into her gymnastics classroom and she picks up her gym bag from the floor. She pauses for a moment, deep in thought. Kimberly rolls up her left sleeve of her purple over-shirt and she looks at the scars on the back of her left arm, above her elbow. Kimberly stares at her arm for a moment, and then she rolls her sleeve back down. The thought of going to the beach and wearing some swimsuit that'd show off her scars wasn't exactly appealing. Sure, she'd had them for a while now, but ever since she came back, she found herself wearing shirts over her tank tops in class, to lunch, and everywhere else that wasn't her home. Kimberly zips her bag shut, she hears a knock on the door from behind and she turns to see Jason in the doorway.

JASON: "Hey. You ready to go home?"

KIMBERLY: "Yeah, let's go."

Jason nods and he walks out into the hall. Kimberly walks to the door and she turns to the wall. Kimberly flips the switch and turns out the light. She exits the room and shuts the door behind her. She'd worry about the beach this weekend. For now, she was just happy to be going home after a long day's work.


	4. Chapter 4 Tiger-Shark Attack

On Saturday, July 12th, at 11 A.M., there are dozens of people already occupying Angel Grove Beach. Zack walks onto the beach, wearing a purple T-shirt and swim trunks. He goes over to a blanket on the sand where Tommy, wearing a black T-shirt and green swim trunks with black stripes, and Kat, wearing a pink bikini top and denim shorts over her bikini briefs, are seated nearby on chairs. Four chairs by them are vacant.

TOMMY: "Hey, Zack. Where's Ethan?"

ZACK: "He went to go grab some drinks. He'll be right back. Did you guys hear from Jason and Kim yet?"

KAT: "Kim called me about ten minutes ago. They're on their way over."

Zack looks over and he smiles.

ZACK: "Looks like we're not the only ones who decided to hit the beach today. Check it out."

Tommy and Kat look down the beach and they smile. Bulk and Skull, wearing tank tops and swim trunks, walk down the beach, carrying a handful of supplies, such as blankets, folded up chairs, sunscreen bottles, etc.

BULK: "A little further."

Bulk and Skull continue walking down the beach.

SKULL: "What about here?"

BULK: "A little further, Skull."

Bulk continues walking forward, but he doesn't notice a sand castle in front of his left foot.

KAT: "Bulk, watch out in front of you!"

Bulk turns and he notices Kat, just as his foot bumps into the sand castle. Bulk trips over the sand castle, he falls onto the sand and drops everything he's holding, which spills out in all directions. Skull stops walking and notices Bulk, as some people at the beach LAUGH at Bulk's misfortune. The three Rangers, however, go over to join Bulk and Skull. Zack and Tommy help Bulk up.

TOMMY: "You okay, Bulk?"

BULK: "Yeah, thanks. I think we'll stick with this spot, Skull."

* * *

On the balcony of the Lunar Palace, Rita and Zedd walk onto the balcony. Domminnous looks at Earth with his telescope.

RITA: "What's with you, Domminnous?"

DOMMINNOUS: "See for yourself."

Rita looks at Earth with her own telescope and Zedd looks with his eyebeam.

Through Zedd's point of view, in which he sees everything in red, he watches the Rangers as they talk to Bulk and Skull on the beach.

ZEDD: "So, those Rangers are spending their day off on the beach."

Zedd ends his eyebeam and he clutches his Z-staff tighter with his left hand. Rita looks away from her telescope and smiles.

RITA: "It looks like a lovely day at the beach... a lovely day for us to ruin!"

ZEDD: "We will, my dear, once we think up a new monster."

DOMMINNOUS: "Yes, and once we think up the right kind of monster to let loose, the Rangers will be history!"

Domminnous laughs evilly.

* * *

Back on the beach, the three Rangers are with Bulk and Skull, who have set up their set up their chairs and laid their blankets on the sand.

BULK: "Thanks for your help, guys."

TOMMY: "It's no problem."

Walking over to join Bulk and Skull is a familiar young teenager, SPIKE SKULLOVITCH. He is wearing a T-shirt, swim trunks and sandals and Spike is carrying a tray of sodas in his hands.

SPIKE: "I got the sodas you wanted."

BULK: "Good job, Spike."

ZACK: "Spike? You know this kid?"

Skull suddenly beams a smile at Zack.

SKULL: "That's right! You didn't get to meet my son!"

Zack looks at Spike and Skull in surprise.

ZACK: "Son? You're a dad, Skull?"

BULK: "Yep. Zack, say hello to Spike Skullovitch!"

SPIKE: "Nice to meet ya!"

Spike smiles and shakes Zack's hand. Spike ends the handshake and Skull smiles as he puts his arm around Spike.

SKULL: "That's my boy!"

Skull and Spike both LAUGH. Zack looks surprised at them. Spike looked and sounded so much like his dad, right down to his laugh, that it was starting to creep Zack out.

ZACK: "Yeah. I can definitely see the resemblance."

Skull notices the book under Spike's left arm. He grabs it and looks at the cover, which has photos of a shark and a tiger on it. The book is called "Land, Sea and Air: Animals of the World by Cheryl Saban".

SKULL: "So what've you got there?" (eyes the cover) "'Land, Sea and Air: Animals of the World'?"

SPIKE: "Mom made me bring it. She wanted me to make time for homework while we went to the beach."

BULK: "Looks like the rest of your party's here."

The three Rangers turn and they see Jason and Kimberly, in T-shirts and shorts, walking down the beach. Ethan walks with them, wearing a navy blue tank top, swim trunks and sandals and carrying a tray of six water bottles in his hands.

KAT: "We'd better get going. See you guys later."

BULK: "Bye, guys."

SKULL: "Yeah. Bye, guys."

Kat, Tommy and Zack walk down the beach. They join Ethan, Jason and Kimberly at their previous spot. Ethan smiles at his friends as he hands them water bottles.

ETHAN: "Look who I bumped into on my way back."

TOMMY: "Hey, guys. Glad you could make it."

JASON: "No problem, bro. Besides, it's a great day to hit the beach."

Zack sips his water bottle and then he smiles at Ethan.

ZACK: "Thanks for the water, Ethan."

ETHAN: "No problem. You guys want to go for a swim?"

ZACK: "Sounds good to me!"

KIMBERLY: "You guys go on ahead. I'll be out in a few minutes."

Jason and Tommy exchange grim looks. Tommy nods at Jason.

JASON: "I'll be out in a minute too. Go on, we'll meet you in the water."

The other Rangers walk off and leave Jason alone with Kimberly.

JASON: "Kim, are you okay?"

KIMBERLY: "Yeah, I just wanted to sit and relax for a while."

JASON: "Because if you're not comfortable being out, we can..."

KIMBERLY: (interrupts) "No, no, really. I'll be out in a few minutes. I'm just going to sit and relax, that's all. It's been a pretty long week."

JASON: "Are you sure?"

KIMBERLY: "Yeah, go on. I'll be along in a little while."

Jason smiles at Kimberly and he nods. He holds Kimberly's hand and she smiles as she gently squeezes his hand back. Jason lets go of Kim's hand, he removes his shirt and he sets it on his chair. Jason walks off and Kimberly looks at his scarred back as he leaves. Kimberly moves her shirt sleeve up and looks at the scars on the back of her left bicep, above her elbow. She grimaces and lowers her sleeve back down. Kimberly looks at the ocean and frowns as she watches the others goofing around in the water. Seeing how confident and happy Jason was, she wished she could feel the same way.

* * *

At the Lunar Palace, Zedd is already looking at Earth with his telescopic beam. He watches Kimberly, who looks on glumly at her friends.

ZEDD: "So, it seems the Pink Ranger is embarrassed about her collection of scars Scorpina gave her!"

Zedd ends his telescopic eyebeam and he turns to Domminnous and Rita.

ZEDD (CONT'D): "I think we should send down a new monster to rip them all to pieces!"

DOMMINNOUS: "Interesting choice of words you chose to use, Zedd. I think I've got the perfect monster for the job."

RITA: "You have? Well, what're you waiting for?! Make your monster!"

Domminnous looks at the Earth. Through his telescope, he sees Spike seated on a blanket on the beach and he looks at the cover of his animal book.

DOMMINNOUS: "All in due time, Rita."

* * *

Over at the beach, Spike sets down his book and he looks over at Bulk and Skull, who are seated on their chairs.

SPIKE: "Hey, Dad, can I go for a swim?"

SKULL: "Did you finish all your homework first?"

Spike grimaces at the thought of studying rather than playing on the beach.

SPIKE: "Well, almost."

SKULL: "Finish your book, then you can go swim."

Just then, a beam of purple electricity is shot down and it hits the book, making it vanish. The three, however, don't see the book vanish and Spike rolls his eyes.

SPIKE: "Fine, I'll finish my book."

Spike reaches for his book, but finds it gone. Spike looks around, puzzled. Skull looks over at the Rangers' chairs.

SPIKE: "Where'd it go? It was right here!"

SKULL: "Hey, Bulk. Check it out."

Bulk notices Kimberly seated on her chair, watching the other Rangers. Bulk and Skull glance at one another.

SKULL: "Pep talk?"

BULK: "Pep talk."

Bulk smiles at Spike.

BULK: "Read your book, Spike. We'll be back."

Spike is looking everywhere for his book – behind a chair, under his blanket, and even under a sunscreen bottle. Bulk and Skull don't notice Spike's searching as they walk down the beach. The duo walks over and they join Kimberly. She smiles at them.

KIMBERLY: "Hey, guys. How are you doing?"

BULK: "That was going to be our question for you."

SKULL: "Yeah, our question. Something wrong?"

KIMBERLY: "No, it's nothing. I just..."

Kimberly looks away. She frowns and she looks around the beach, thinking of what to do. Bulk and Skull glance at one another and then they set on chairs next to Kimberly.

BULK: "We heard about what happened. Are you embarrassed or something?"

Kimberly bites her lip.

KIMBERLY: "A little. I know I shouldn't be. I don't regret my decision to step in and help Andrea. It's just..."

Kimberly sighs, still looking away. She shrugs sheepishly. Just the idea of talking about it was making her feel uncomfortable, and now she wanted to flaunt the scars on her bikini body for all on the beach to see?

KIMBERLY: "I don't know, I guess I just feel like I look ugly."

To her surprise, Bulk and Skull start laughing. Kimberly looks back at them.

BULK: "You? Ugly? That's a good one!"

SKULL: "Yeah, that's a good one! You're not ugly!"

The duo continues to laugh and Kimberly frowns. She turns around and she pulls up the back of her shirt with one hand, showing them some of the long scars that crisscross her back. Bulk and Skull quickly stop laughing once they catch sight of the long whip scars. They'd heard about what happened to Kimberly and their friends from a few weeks back, but they had no idea there would be that many scars or that they'd been cut so deep on her skin. The duo looks on at Kimberly in concern, but then they smile at her.

BULK: "Doesn't look that bad to us, right, Skull?"

SKULL: "No way. And if they look and stare, so what? It's not like you're afraid."

Kimberly lets go of her shirt and she looks down, looking uncomfortable. Bulk smiles. His friend's comment had just given him an idea.

BULK: "I think she is."

She looks at Bulk, puzzled.

KIMBERLY: "What?"

SKULL: "What do you mean? She's not –"

Bulk quickly elbows Skull's side to shut him up.

BULK: "Don't you get it, Skull? She won't do it because she's afraid."

Skull looks at Bulk in realization and he looks at Kimberly.

SKULL: "Oh, yeah. You're right, she's just being a big old fraidy cat, Bulky."

KIMBERLY: "Hey, I'm not afraid."

BULK: "You sure? Care to prove it?"

Kimberly notices Bulk and Skull smiling at her. She looks confused, but then she quickly realizes what they're doing. Kimberly smiles back at the duo.

KIMBERLY: "All right. I will. Be right back."

Bulk and Skull watch as Kimberly walks off to a changing room nearby. From the ocean, Jason sees Kimberly walk off and he smiles. He then sees Spike go running up to Bulk and Skull from behind.

SPIKE: "Have you seen my book? I can't find it anywhere!"

Bulk and Skull turn and they see Spike behind them.

SKULL: "Well, it's around here somewhere. It didn't just get up and walk away."

* * *

On the palace balcony, Rita, Zedd and Domminnous look at Earth. Domminnous smiles, amused by the comment.

DOMMINNOUS: "Thanks to that brat's book, I've created the perfect new monster - Tiger-Shark!"

DOMMINNOUS LAUGHS, he aims his staff at the Earth and shoots a beam of purple electricity from it.

* * *

The electric beam hits the sand and, with a flash of purple light, a tiger-like creature that stands like a man, has the eyes, skin, teeth and fin of a shark, has paws for hands and feet, and is dressed in swim trunks and boots appears. The monster, TIGER-SHARK, lets out an evil laugh.

TIGER-SHARK: "What a beautiful day... it might be your last too!"

Bulk, Skull and Spike see the monster nearby. Their eyes bulge, their jaws drop open and they start backing away. Tiger-Shark looks at them and laughs. Bulk, Skull and Spike scream and they run away. In the ocean, the people notice the monster on the beach and the bystanders running away screaming in fear.

TIGER-SHARK: "Go on and run! Who is gonna save you weaklings?"

The five Rangers exchange grim looks. There were still swimmers around them swimming and running in a panic to get to shore away from that monster, there wasn't enough space yet for them to swim to shore and they couldn't well morph in front of everyone. The Rangers were stuck and there was nothing they could do but watch and wait.

* * *

Inside her changing booth, Kimberly unbuttons and removes her shirt, stripping to a pink bikini top. She puts her shirt down on a bench and she is about to remove her shorts, when she stops and spots herself in the mirror. Kimberly turns around a little and she looks at the scars that crisscross her back. She bites down on her lower lip and she reaches down for her shirt. Kimberly stops her hand a few inches from her shirt and pauses. She wasn't sure if she was ready for people to be staring at her just yet, but how much longer could she cover up and hide? Before she could think through her options further, her communicator goes off. Kimberly quickly pulls her arm back and she taps her communicator's talk button.

KIMBERLY: "This is Kimberly. Come in, Zordon."

* * *

Inside the Command Center, the alarms have gone off and Zordon and Alpha 5 are watching the monster attack on the Viewing Globe.

ZORDON: "Kimberly, there is a new monster on the beach attacking innocent bystanders. The other Rangers do not yet have an opening to get away and morph. You must confront the monster so that the people can leave the beach and the Rangers can head out to morph."

* * *

In her changing booth, Kimberly nods, still holding the talk button of her communicator.

KIMBERLY: "All right, Zordon. I'll be right out."

She reaches behind her back for her Morpher.

KIMBERLY: "It's Morphin Time!"

She holds out her Power Morpher, her thumb pushes on the red button on the Morpher's side and the case pops open, effectively making the Morpher active.

KIMBERLY: "Pterodactyl!"

* * *

Back on the beach, Tiger-Shark shoots out a stream of purple energy from its open mouth, barely missing two fleeing people. The beam hits a lawn chair and causes it to explode. Two red beams are fired from behind, they hit Tiger-Shark's back and the monster is knocked to the ground. The people in the water, including the five unmorphed Rangers, look over to see Pink Ranger standing on the beach and holding her Blade Blaster gun.

PINK RANGER: "Get out of here! I can handle this creep!"

The people in the water manage to swim to shore and they run off, including the five unmorphed Rangers. Tiger-Shark stands up and looks over at Pink Ranger.

TIGER-SHARK: "Looks like Zordon sent down a pretty pink fish for me to eat! You think you can stop me?"

PINK RANGER: "See for yourself!"

Tiger-Shark shoots a beam of energy from his mouth at Pink Ranger, but she rolls aside and shoots two beams from her Blaster gun that sparkly hit the monster's chest. Tiger-Shark stumbles back, but recovers and grabs two of the teeth from inside its mouth. The teeth unfold and change into throwing stars. Tiger-Shark throws them at Pink Ranger, sparkly hitting her chest and left shoulder, and she stumbles back as Tiger-Shark grabs two more teeth that turn into throwing stars. Tiger-Shark throws the throwing star teeth, sparkly hitting Pink Ranger's abdomen and right arm, and she's knocked down.

TIGER-SHARK: "You seem to be easy prey!"

Tiger-Shark charges at Pink Ranger as she gets to her feet and she switches her Blade Blaster to sword mode. Tiger-Shark kicks her stomach and Pink Ranger stumbles back, but she recovers. She dodges Tiger-Shark's right cross punch and she retaliates by slashing her Blaster sword across his chest, raising sparks.

Tiger-Shark recovers, he dodges her next slash attempt and sparkly slashes her chest by striking with his left paw hand. Tiger-Shark then knocks Pink Ranger aside by whipping its tail against her right side. Pink Ranger rolls to a stop, and then she turns and sees Tiger-Shark shoot a beam of purple energy from its mouth. The beam hits Pink Ranger, she lets out a pained cry as a burst of sparks fly off her and she's knocked to the ground. Pink Ranger tries to push herself up, but she falls down and Tiger-Shark laughs as he approaches her.

TIGER-SHARK: "Are the other Power Rangers as weak as you are?"

RED RANGER: "Watch who you're calling weak!"

Just then, the other five Rangers leap through the air – led by Red, then followed by Green, Black, Yellow and Blue. As the other Rangers land near Pink Ranger, Red Ranger's Power Sword appears held in his hands in a burst of red light and he lets out a karate yell as he slashes his sword down Tiger-Shark's chest, raising sparks. Tiger-Shark stumbles back, but he recovers and tries to slash Red Ranger with his right paw hand. Red Ranger dodges and he slashes his Power Sword again, but this time a wave of red energy follows the blade as it sparkly slashes Tiger-Shark's chest. Pink Ranger stands up, with the other Rangers standing protectively around her. Red Ranger glances back at them.

RED RANGER: "Are you all right, Kim?"

PINK RANGER: "I'll be okay."

TIGER-SHARK: "Not for long!"

Tiger-Shark rakes his left paw hand across Red Ranger's chest, raising sparks as he's knocked aside, and he charges at the other Rangers. Green Ranger draws his Dragon Dagger, while the other Rangers pull their freshly-materialized Power Weapons from behind their back. The Rangers charge to fight with Tiger-Shark, one at a time, and Blue Ranger is the first to attack. He swats his Power Lance at Tiger-Shark, but the monster dodges and knocks Blue Ranger aside as he sparkly slashes Blue Ranger's chest. Yellow Ranger is up next and she slashes Tiger-Shark's chest with one of her Power Daggers. She attempts another slash, but Tiger-Shark dodges, he kicks Yellow Ranger's stomach and then knocks her down as he sparkly slashes her chest. Pink Ranger moves in next and she lets loose a spinning heel kick that knocks Tiger-Shark back a few steps. Tiger-Shark recovers, he blocks her next kick and he knocks her down as he sparkly slashes her stomach. Black Ranger moves in to attack and he slashes his Power Axe across the monster's chest, knocking Tiger-Shark back with a burst of sparks. Tiger-Shark ducks under the next swing of Black Ranger's Power Axe and he rakes his right paw hand across Black Ranger's chest, knocking him down with a burst of sparks. Green Ranger moves in last, letting loose a spinning heel kick that Tiger-Shark dodges. Green Ranger blocks Tiger-Shark's left paw slash attempt and Tiger-Shark blocks Green Ranger's slash with his Dragon Dagger. Tiger-Shark knocks Green Ranger back as he sparkly whips his tail across his Dragon Shield chest armor, but Green Ranger recovers and knocks Tiger-Shark back with a sparkly slash to the chest with his Dagger. Tiger-Shark is then knocked aside by a side kick from Red Ranger.

RED RANGER: "Remember me?"

Tiger-Shark whips his tail at Red Ranger, but he dodges and knocks Tiger-Shark back with a kick to the chest. Tiger-Shark recovers, he dodges as Red Ranger slashes his Power Sword at him, and he retaliates by sparkly slashing Red Ranger's chest with his right paw hand. Tiger-Shark tries again, but Red Ranger dodges and he slashes his Power Sword across Tiger-Shark's chest, raising sparks as a trail of red energy follows the blade. Tiger-Shark GROWLS, enraged. Tiger-Shark whips his tail at Red Ranger, but he back-flips away from it and he stabs his Power Sword into the sand as he lands on his feet. To the monster's surprise, Red Ranger lets loose a corkscrew kick and his feet sparkly hit the monster's chest, knocking him to the ground. Red Ranger hits the ground and gets in a fighting stance. Green Ranger grabs the Power Sword from the sand and he joins the other Rangers gather around their leader. Green Ranger hands the Sword to Red Ranger, who takes it back.

GREEN RANGER: "You ready to finish this creep off?"

RED RANGER: "You bet, bro! Rangers, assemble Power Blaster!"

OTHER RANGERS: "Right!"

The Rangers get ready to combine their weapons in their usual routine.

BLACK RANGER: "Power Axe!"

He switches his Power Axe to its cannon mode, he tosses it in the air and it hovers in mid-air.

PINK RANGER: "Power Bow!"

Pink Ranger tosses her Bow and it connects onto the Axe.

YELLOW RANGERS: "Power Daggers!"

She tosses her Daggers and they connect under the Bow at either side.

BLUE RANGER: "Power Lance!"

He tosses his two Lance halves and they connect under the Bow, next to each Dagger.

GREEN RANGER: "Dragon Dagger!"

He tosses his Dagger at the Axe and it connects to the handle under it, with its bottom end facing forward.

RED RANGER: "Power Sword!"

Red Ranger leaps up to the hovering incomplete Power Blaster. Red Ranger lies his Power Sword down, completing the Power Blaster. He drops down to the ground, holding the Power Blaster in his hands, and the other five Rangers gather around him. The Rangers aim the Power Blaster at Tiger-Shark.

ALL SIX RANGERS: "Lock on and fire!"

The Rangers fire the Power Blaster at Tiger-Shark. The monster screams as the beams hit him, he drops forward to the ground and as he lands on his front, the monster detonates in a large explosion.

* * *

Back on the balcony, Domminnous angrily looks at the Earth and the tip of his staff and his eyes both simultaneously glow with purple energy.

DOMMINNOUS: "I will not see my monster defeated so easily! It's time I made my creation grow!"

He shoots a beam of purple electrical beam from his staff and at the Earth.

* * *

At the beach, the electrical beam hits the dust remains of the monster, resurrecting Tiger-Shark and making the monster grow. The Rangers step back in surprise and they watch as Tiger-Shark pulls out four of his loose teeth. He turns the teeth into throwing stars.

TIGER-SHARK: "You're finished, Rangers!"

Tiger-Shark throws the throwing stars at the Rangers. They flip away, barely missing the throwing stars. Two of them are stabbed into the sand, while one hits an empty parking lot and the last hits the grass.

RED RANGER: "We need Dinozord power, NOW!"

The Zords have emerged from their usual hiding places and they have met up with one another. They charge ahead to answer the call of the Rangers.

GREEN RANGER: "I need Dragonzord power!"

Using his Dagger as a flute, Green Ranger plays the Dragonzord fanfare melody to summon his Zord. Dragonzord emerges up from the ocean and the Zord walks onto the beach. Dragonzord spins around, whips its tail across Tiger-Shark's chest and raises sparks as the monster stumbles back.

RED RANGER: "We need to log on! Tommy, get this creep to the mountains! We can't let him wreck the beach!"

GREEN RANGER: "Gotcha, bro!"

The other five Rangers jump into the air to their Zords and they enter the cockpit of their Zord, one by one.

RED RANGER: "Log on!"

BLACK RANGER: "Zack here, ready to chill!"

BLUE RANGER: "This is Ethan, all systems go!"

YELLOW RANGER: "Kat here, ready to prowl!"

PINK RANGER: "Kimberly here, set to soar!"

Red Ranger has grabbed his Power Coin from his Morpher belt buckle and he uses it to create his Red Power Crystal.

RED RANGER: "Rangers, power up your Crystals!"

Red Ranger inserts his Red Power Crystal into his control console's outlet. The other four Rangers simultaneously create their Crystals and insert them into their Zord's control console outlet.

FOUR RANGERS: "Two, one, mark!"

RED RANGER: "All right, guys, let's do it!"

* * *

Dragonzord has walked away from the beach and Tiger-Shark quickly follows after the Zord to the mountains.

TIGER-SHARK: "So, you want to play out here, huh? It doesn't matter! Once I finish you off, I'll destroy the city anyway!"

Tiger-Shark kicks Dragonzord's chest and then he knocks the Zord back as he tail-whips Dragonzord's chest. Sparks fly off Dragonzord's chest as it stumbles back, but the Zord recovers and it blocks Tiger-Shark's right paw's slash attack. Dragonzord knocks Tiger-Shark back with a kick to the stomach and then it lets loose a tail-whip attack that knocks Tiger-Shark to the ground. Tiger-Shark hits the ground rolling, but he stops and stands up. Tiger-Shark grabs four teeth to use them as throwing stars, but the Tyrannosaurus Dinozord stands protectively in front of Dragonzord and the Zord tail-whips Tiger-Shark. The Tyrannosaurus' tail hits Tiger-Shark's side, making the monster stumble aside and he drops the teeth to the ground.

RED RANGER: "Is that all you've got, Tiger-Shark?"

TIGER-SHARK: "I do have a few tricks left up my sleeve, Red Ranger... or rather, on my back!"

Tiger-Shark reaches behind his back, he bloodlessly pulls his fin off his back and, with a flash of light, a handle appears from one side of the fin and a blade appears from the other. The fin has become a sword. Tiger-Shark slashes his fin sword across the Tyrannosaurus's chest, raising sparks, and then he knocks the Zord aside with a kick to its side. Dragonzord approaches and Tiger-Shark slashes its sword across Dragonzord's chest, raising sparks. Dragonzord attempts a tail-whip, but Tiger-Shark ducks under it and sends Dragonzord back with another slash to the chest with his sword. The other four Zords approach and the Saber-Toothed Tiger lifts its tail up.

YELLOW RANGER: "Leave them alone!"

Saber-Toothed Tiger shoots a beam of yellow energy from its tail and it hits Tiger-Shark's chest with a burst of sparks. Tiger-Shark turns to face Saber-Toothed Tiger and it shoots a stream of purple energy from its mouth. The beam hits the ground and creates a small cluster of explosions, but the Saber-Toothed Tiger leaps over the explosions and at Tiger-Shark. As it passes by the monster, Saber-Toothed Tiger slashes Tiger-Shark's chest with its front two feet and the monster stumbles back.

BLUE RANGER: "I'm with you! Deploying Power Hooks now!"

The Triceratops shoots its horns out, which serve as grappling hooks, and the Power Hooks wrap around Tiger-Shark. The monster struggles to get loose, but can't.

BLUE RANGER: "I've got him!"

TIGER-SHARK: "But not for long!"

Tiger-Shark shoots another stream of purple energy from its mouth, it hits the Triceratops and Blue Ranger is shaken in his seat as sparks fly off the Zord.

PINK RANGER: "Hang on, Ethan! I'm coming!"

The Pterodactyl soars ahead and fires blue electrical bolts from its shoulder cannons. Sparks fly off Tiger-Shark as the bolts hit his chest, but he recovers and shoots black beams from his eyes at the Pterodactyl. A burst of sparks shoot off the Pterodactyl as the Zord is hit and Pink Ranger is simultaneously shaken in her seat.

GREEN RANGER: "So you want to use firepower, huh? Dragonzord, use your missiles!"

Green Ranger plays a tune on his Dagger flute and missiles appear in Dragonzord's fingertips. The missiles are fired and they hit Tiger-Shark with a shower of sparks. Tiger-Shark finally breaks loose from the Power Hooks and he fires black beams from his eyes that hit Dragonzord's chest, knocking the Zord back with a burst of sparks.

BLACK RANGER: "Chill out, tuna breath!"

The Mastodon fires its icy mist from its trunk, but Tiger-Shark dodges it. Tiger-Shark shoots beams from its eyes that sparkly hit the Mastodon. The Tyrannosaurus moves in to protect the Mastodon, but Tiger-Shark sparkly slashes the Tyrannosaurus's chest and the Zord's knocked back. The Tyrannosaurus attempts a tail-whip attack, but Tiger-Shark dodges and leaps at the Zord. Tiger-Shark kicks its feet onto the Tyrannosaurus's chest, raising sparks and causing the Zord to fall to the ground.

RED RANGER: "That's it! Switch it to Megazord, now!"

The five Zords, except Dragonzord, are drawn close to combine. As usual, the Saber-Toothed Tiger and Triceratops lock on to the Tyrannosaurus' knees to become the right and left legs, respectively, the Mastodon locks onto the Tyrannosaurus' back so that its legs become Megazord's arms and the Tyrannosaurus' head enters its chest compartment to change to Megazord's head.

COMPUTER VOICE: "Megazord sequence has been initiated."

The combined Zords stand up, the Pterodactyl connects to form the chestplate and the horns lock onto either side of Megazord's head to complete the change.

COMPUTER VOICE: "Megazord activated!"

Dragonzord walks over and stands battle ready beside Megazord. The five Rangers look at Tiger-Shark through Megazord's cockpit and Red Ranger makes his right hand into a fist.

RED RANGER: "Let's make this a fair fight! We need the Mega Power Sword, now!"

The Megazord's Power Sword falls from the sky and lands with the blade stabbed into the ground. Megazord grabs the sword's handle with its right hand and it pulls the sword up and out of the ground.

TIGER-SHARK: "Let's see how good you really are with that sword!"

Megazord blocks Tiger-Shark's sword slash attack, but Tiger-Shark successfully slashes his sword across Megazord's chestplate, raising sparks. Tiger-Shark attempts another slash, but Megazord blocks the blade with its own sword and it sparkly slashes the Power Sword across Tiger-Shark's chest. Tiger-Shark moves in and slashes his sword at Megazord. Megazord blocks the sword with its own blade and the two are struggling to push back the other's blade. Megazord is able to knock Tiger-Shark's sword back and then it slices the blade off with its Power Sword, turning it back into a fin again. Megazord kicks Tiger-Shark's stomach and he stumbles back, but he recovers and whips its tail at Megazord. Megazord blocks the tail-whip attack and retaliates by punching its free left fist on Tiger-Shark's chest. Tiger-Shark stumbles back and Megazord punches its left fist again, this time on the monster's face. Tiger-Shark hits the ground rolling, but stops and stands up.

TIGER-SHARK: "Why you-!"

Tiger-Shark shoots a stream of purple energy from its mouth and it hits Megazord's chest, creating a burst of sparks that shake the Rangers in their seats.

YELLOW RANGER: "The computers went down!"

BLACK RANGER: "We need to power up!"

RED RANGER: "Tommy, we need a distraction!"

GREEN RANGER: "Back off, ugly!"

Dragonzord stands protectively in front of Megazord. Green Ranger plays a tune on his Dagger flute and more missiles appear in Dragonzord's fingertips. Dragonzord fires the missiles and they hit Tiger-Shark with a burst of sparks.

TIGER-SHARK: "I'll destroy you all with my bare hands!"

BLACK RANGER: "I don't think so, ugly! Mammoth Shield!"

Megazord holds the Mammoth Shield in its left hand and then the Mammoth's head sprays an icy mist at the charging Tiger-Shark. Tiger-Shark slows down and stumbles back as the mist sprays him. Within seconds, Tiger-Shark is frozen in place.

TIGER-SHARK: "No! I can't move!"

PINK RANGER: "Way to go, Zack!"

RED RANGER: "Nice job, buddy, now we can finish him off!"

Megazord lifts up its Power Sword to the sky and bolts of reddish-white lightning strike it. Energized by the lightning, Megazord slashes the Power Sword and its energized strike hits the Tiger-Shark monster. With the ice cracked off his legs by the strike, Tiger-Shark lets out a pained scream as he falls backwards and then he is destroyed in a fiery explosion. The Rangers cheer their victory.

* * *

Back on the moon, Domminnous storms into the throne room of the palace, livid. Rita and Zedd follow him in, equally upset.

DOMMINNOUS: "They did it again! I have never failed so many times to destroy so few adversaries!"

RITA: "That monster of yours was just worthless, just like the others!"

DOMMINNOUS: "Really? Remind me, how many Power Rangers have you destroyed again?"

RITA: "Oh, shut up! It's not like you've done any better!"

Domminnous looks at the Earth angrily.

DOMMINNOUS: "This isn't over! I will finish them off! I swear it!"

* * *

A short time later, back on the beach, Bulk and Skull are seated on their chairs on the beach. Spike is still searching for his book and is literally digging through the sand with his bare hands.

BULK: "You still haven't found your book?"

The book materializes in a burst of purple light, but none of the three notices. Spike is still digging into the sand.

SPIKE: "It's got to be here somewhere! It's got to!"

Bulk and Skull look over and they see the book is back on the blanket. The duo eye one another and then they look over at Spike.

SKULL: "Uh, son... behind you?"

Spike looks up at Skull, who points at the blanket behind Spike. He turns and sees his book. Spike looks at Bulk and Skull with shock.

SPIKE: "How did... I didn't... Where did..."

SKULL: "Never mind, just do your homework."

Bulk is looking ahead and he smiles. Bulk gently elbows Skull to get his attention.

BULK: "Hey, Skullie. Look!"

Skull looks ahead, seeing what Bulk is looking at. They see Jason and Kimberly by the lawn chairs and the two men smile. Kimberly stands in front of Jason, wearing a T-shirt big enough so that it goes down to above her knees and covers her pink bikini.

KIMBERLY: "Are you sure about this?"

JASON: "You don't have to if you don't want to. But sooner or later, you've got to get used to it."

Kimberly bites her lip. She looks at some beachgoers who glance at Jason as they walk by and they look in shock as they see his own scars on his back. Kimberly looks over at Jason, who smiles at her.

KIMBERLY: "Doesn't it bother you? The staring?"

JASON: "Let 'em look. I don't care. And besides, with a pretty face like yours, nobody will be looking at your scars anyway."

Kimberly smiles and playfully punches his shoulder. She sees him smile at her. Seeing how happy he was made Kimberly frown and look nervous all over again.

KIMBERLY: "How do you do it? How are you not embarrassed? How do you stay so confident and cool about it?"

JASON: "I'm not going to let what Goldar did to me get me down. I won't give him that satisfaction. Besides, I got these scars protecting Zack, like you got yours protecting Andrea. I don't regret what I did. Do you?"

KIMBERLY: "Of course not. I just..."

She lowers her head, looking nervous. Jason smiles, he puts his hand under her chin and he gently lifts Kimberly's head so the two look in each other's eyes.

JASON: "Then who cares what other people think? Your scars remind me what a brave, noble thing you did. How could I possibly be embarrassed by that?"

He smiles at Kimberly warmly, caringly.

JASON (CONT'D): "How could you?"

Kimberly smiles at Jason. She'd never looked at it like that before. All these weeks, she'd felt embarrassed, ashamed, but when Kimberly realized he never felt the same way, she felt kind of silly to be embarrassed to begin with. She steps back by the lawn chair and she looks at the water. She watches the other Rangers swimming and playing, having fun.

JASON: "Don't worry. You don't have to go in if you don't want to."

Kimberly looks at Jason and she smiles. She unbuttons her shirt and removes it, showing Jason her bikini. Kimberly wasn't about to let this new self-confidence he'd given her go to waste.

KIMBERLY: "What? And miss a swim with my best friends and my fiancé? What are you, crazy?"

Jason smiles at her.

JASON: "Shall we?"

He holds his hand out to her, Kimberly holds his hand with a smile and they walk to the water to join the others. Kimberly notices some people on the beach are looking at her and one woman winces as she catches sight of her back. Kimberly looks at Jason and smiles, but she still looks a little uncomfortable.

JASON: "You okay with this?"

She looks at Jason and smiles. She knew they were watching them, but she kept her eyes on Jason. Kimberly nods at him, feeling a little more confident than she did earlier that day.

KIMBERLY: "It'll take time to get used to the looks, the staring. But I'm not embarrassed."

To Jason's surprise, Kimberly smiles mischievously.

KIMBERLY: "And I'm certainly not it. Tag!"

The other Rangers watch as Kimberly tags Jason's arm and she quickly runs into the water to join her friends.

KIMBERLY: "Watch it, guys! Jason's it!"

Jason smiles and he runs after Kimberly. The Rangers smile and laugh as they start to play tag in the water. Jason manages to tag Tommy by his arm. Tommy smiles and runs after his friends to tag the next person. They'd had done their work saving the city. Now, it was time to play.


	5. Chapter 5 The Heat is On

On Sunday, July 13th, Jason and Kimberly come out of the water and step onto the beach. Jason is wearing black swim trunks, while Kimberly is wearing a purple bikini. Zack is seated on his own lawn chair, wearing purple swim trunks, and he smiles at the duo as they approach. Jason and Kimberly sit down on lawn chairs next to Zack's and they start to dry off with their towels.

ZACK: "You two look like you've been having fun."

JASON: "Well, it's a great day for a swim. And besides, a guy can't ask for better company."

KIMBERLY: "Are the others on their way over here?"

ZACK: "Yeah, Ethan's on his way. Tommy and Kat said they'll be here in a little while. They're finishing lunch first."

JASON: "Lunch doesn't sound like a bad idea. What do you say we go grab something to eat?"

ZACK: "Now you're talking!"

Zack rises from his chair, while Jason and Kimberly grab their tank tops - Jason's top is red, Kim's is purple. They put their tank tops on as they rise from their seats, they stand up and they walk down the beach with Zack.

* * *

On the balcony of the Lunar Palace, Rita and Domminnous watch Earth with their telescopes and Zedd watches with his telescopic eyebeam.

DOMMINNOUS: "The Rangers seem to be having a fun time down there. I think it's time I conjure up a new monster to eliminate them."

Zedd ends his eyebeam and he looks at Domminnous. Rita looks away from her telescope and she shoves Domminnous' shoulder.

RITA: "Whoa, wait a minute! Who says you get to make all the monsters around here? You've had four failures in a row!"

ZEDD: "Indeed! I could conjure up a new monster myself, you know!"

DOMMINNOUS: "Fine. If you both think you can do better, prove it. Since you spoke up first, why don't you try to come up with a monster this time, Rita?"

RITA: "Fine, I will! I'll see what new monsters Finster's been working on, and once I find out, you clods will see what a _real_ monster can do!"

Rita cackles as she walks off the balcony and into the palace. It'd been quite a while since she had Finster make her a particularly nasty monster and she was getting out of practice. It was time for her to correct that.

* * *

In the garage inside the back of the Command Center, Ionisos, in his robe and leather uniform, and Dulcea, in her Amazonian type outfit, are hard at work at two individual motorcycles. Dulcea is putting in wires into a compartment and a side car is already hooked onto her motorcycle, while Ionisos is installing his own side car onto the side of his cycle. Ionisos couldn't help but smile, it was all he could to do to keep from bursting with excitement.

IONISOS: "I'm almost done here. How are the adjustments coming along?"

DULCEA: "Just a few more circuits and a fresh coat of paint and it'll be ready."

IONISOS: "I can't wait to see the look on the Rangers' faces once they're ready. I just know they're going to be of immense help to them both in battle and for emergency use."

DULCEA: "I agree about their use in battle. As for emergency use, I hope it never comes to that. Between you, Zordon and Alpha constantly improving the Command Center's computer systems and security, I don't see any transportation problems for them in the foreseeable future."

IONISOS: "That's true, but like you, I believe in being prepared and to expect the unexpected."

Ionisos' watch beeps. He looks at the time. Ionisos stands up and he looks at Dulcea.

IONISOS: "It's time for our lunch break. Come along. We'll finish up here later."

DULCEA: "Very well."

Dulcea stands up and she follows Ionisos out of the room. She shuts the door behind her.

* * *

A short time later at the Lunar Palace, inside Finster's workshop, Finster is standing at a work table and he is working on a clay monster sculpt. Baboo and Squatt stand nearby and watch him work, while Rita is looking over a work table of new monster sculpts.

RITA: "I see you managed to find some new clay to create your new monsters with."

FINSTER: "Yes, my queen. It wasn't easy, but Baboo and Squatt were able to retrieve it for me on one of Mars's moons."

SQUATT: "Yeah, we got it right from Photos!"

BABOO: "That's _Phobos_, you dummy!"

Rita angrily looks at Baboo and Squatt.

RITA: "Oh, _shut up!_ Even when you do something right, it's still irritating! Be grateful that Domminnous even had enough power to revive you two nincompoops with the Elivoss stone!"

BABOO: "Oh, but we are grateful! It's an honor to serve you again, my queen!"

SQUATT: "Yeah, Rita rules!"

FINSTER: "My queen, if I may, I've also managed to create a fresh patch of your old Putty Patrollers. They are almost as strong as Lord Zedd's new Putties and some have weapons for hands that are strong enough and sharp enough to bash the Power Rangers with."

RITA: "Then what're you waiting for? Send some of them down to fight with the Rangers until I can find a good enough monster for them to fight!"

FINSTER: "Yes, my queen. I will send the fresh batch into the Monster Matic immediately."

Finster grabs a tray of sixteen classic Putty Patrol models and he walks over to the Monster Matic. He sends the tray on the conveyor belt, he wheels the Putties into the machine and he closes the door. Finster pulls a lever back and then forward, smoke spews out of the exhaust pipe as the Monster Matic switches on, and then one classic Putty Patroller after another drop down, one by one, down from the machine's exit tube. Baboo and Squatt back away as the Putties drop down.

BABOO: "It sure got crowded in here very quickly!"

RITA: "Can it, you dummies! Putties, get to the beach and get those Rangers!"

* * *

Back in Angel Grove, Ethan, wearing a T-shirt and swim trunks, walks onto the beach with Zack, Kimberly and Jason. Each Ranger holds a folded-up chair under one arm.

ZACK: "Man, that was a great lunch. Do you know when Tommy and Kat are supposed to get here?"

JASON: "I just spoke to Tommy on the phone. They're almost here."

Ethan stops walking and he stares ahead, wide-eyed. He couldn't move.

ETHAN: "Oh, great."

Jason, Kimberly and Zack look to the left and look at the person Ethan is staring at. Laura is on the beach, wearing a black bikini and she is seated on a lawn chair. A bag is set on the sand by her chair, which contains her clothes, her purse and other items. She is putting on suntan lotion on her arms and legs. Zack smiles mischievously at Ethan.

ZACK: "I didn't know your girlfriend was here, buddy."

The quip quickly brought Ethan back to reality. He gave Zack a playful shove on the shoulder.

ETHAN: "She's not my girlfriend, Zack. I mean, we barely know each other."

ZACK: "Well, let's go fix that."

Zack walks over to Laura's chair and Ethan tries to grab Zack's arm to stop him, but he misses. Just like last time.

ETHAN: "Oh, not again."

ZACK: "Hey, Laura!"

Just like before, Zack had made his move to play matchmaker between the two. Laura turns and she smiles at Zack as he walks over to her.

LAURA: "Oh, hi, Zack. How's it going?"

ZACK: "Fine, thanks. I just came down on the beach to chill with my friends."

Laura looks over and she sees Ethan. He gives her a shy smile and he waves at her. Ethan then looks away, trying not to blush. Laura smiles as she sees Ethan.

LAURA: "So I see. I don't think I've met the rest of your friends. Would you mind if I joined you guys?"

ZACK: "Not at all."

Zack sets his chair down on the sand and opens it. Zack turns to his friends and he sees Tommy and Kat have joined the others, holding folded lawn chairs under their arms. Zack waves at his friends to approach and they walk over to join Zack and Laura. Ethan is the last to approach. He is doing his best not to look nervous. But he was also doing his best not to bury Zack's head in the sand for putting the two together like this. The five Rangers set down their chairs on the sand and they join Zack and Laura. The five Rangers sit down.

ZACK: "You've met Ethan. This is Tommy, his wife Kat, Kimberly and her fiancé Jason."

LAURA: "It's nice to meet you all."

TOMMY: "Likewise. So what do you do at the Plaza?"

LAURA: "Oh, I have a part-time job as an aerobics instructor. I go back to work at Angel Grove High in September."

ZACK: "I didn't know you're a teacher too. Tommy and Ethan are teachers too. At least, Ethan will be again in September."

Laura looks at Ethan, intrigued.

LAURA: "Really? What will you teach this fall?"

Ethan stares past her and he looks upset. Laura gives him a puzzled look, unsure what was wrong. The sounds of distant screaming quickly catch the attention of Laura and the other Rangers.

ETHAN: "Oh, no."

Laura turns and she sees that fourteen of Finster's classic Putty Patrollers are on the beach. Most of the people on the beach are running off in terror. Laura gasps, the fear of seeing the Putties making her unable to scream.

JASON: "Ethan, get Laura out of here!"

Ethan goes to Laura and he gently tugs her arm to get her to stand.

ETHAN: "We'd better get out of here."

LAURA: "But what about...?"

ETHAN: (interrupts) "Don't worry, they'll be fine! We should go!"

How could he be so sure? Laura didn't have time to argue. She grabs her bag as Ethan turns to Jason.

ETHAN: "I'll meet up with you shortly."

Ethan runs off with Laura as the last of the civilians flee the beach. The five Rangers are left alone with the Putties.

TOMMY: "Aw, man! Looks like Rita's decided to bring back her own batch of clay-brains! Let's get 'em, guys!"

The five Rangers split up and head out to confront the classic Putties. As the other four head off in different directions, Tommy moves in first. Putty #1 attempts a punch that Tommy dodges, he lets loose a jab to the Putty's gut that knocks him back and then he delivers a spinning back-fist that knocks Putty #1 down. Tommy turns around and he sees Putty #2 slash its left blade hand at him. Tommy leans away from the attack and the tip of the blade does cut through his shirt, but not his skin. The Putties had had bladed hands before back when they were teenagers, sure, but they had never been this sharp before. Tommy's eyes widen as the Putty slashes the blade hand at his throat, but Tommy ducks under the attack and he lets loose a foot-sweep kick that knocks Putty #2 to the ground. The Putty tries to sit up, but Tommy quickly kicks his foot again, hitting the Putty right on the face.

TOMMY: "Watch out for the blade hands, guys! They're razor sharp!"

Tommy turns and continues to fight with more Putties.

* * *

Elsewhere, Ethan has gotten Laura to the parking lot a short distance from the beach.

ETHAN: "You'll be safe here. I'll be back as soon as I can."

LAURA: "Wait! Where are you going?"

ETHAN: "My friends need my help! I need to go back for them!"

He turns to run off, but Laura grabs him by the arm.

LAURA: "But it's too dangerous! You might get-"

Ethan gently holds her hand and he smiles at her.

ETHAN: "Don't worry. I'm just going to get them out of here and I'll meet up with you as soon as I can. I promise. Just promise me you'll get out of here."

Laura looks Ethan in the eyes, nervously. This brave side of Ethan was certainly surprising, considering how clumsy he'd been trying to speak to her before. She nods at him.

LAURA: "I'll be at the Juice Bar. You can meet me there."

ETHAN: "I will. I promise."

Ethan turns and he runs back to the beach. He growled at himself in frustration. The one time he was able to express himself properly and it was because their lives were in danger. Typical.

* * *

Several seconds later, Ethan gets to the beach and he sees the Rangers are already in battle. He goes over to Zack, who is fighting Putties #4 and #5 simultaneously. Ethan moves in and knocks Putty #4 back with a kick to the chest.

ETHAN: "Mind if I cut in?"

ZACK: "He's all yours, buddy!"

Ethan moves in, he dodges Putty #4's left cross and he counters with a heel kick to the ribs. Putty #4 recovers, he dodges Ethan's right cross and he delivers a high kick to Ethan's chest. Ethan stumbles back, Putty #4 attempts another kick that Ethan blocks and Ethan knocks Putty #4 down with a kick to the chest.

Nearby, Kimberly does a series of back-handsprings as Putty #5 charges at her. As she finishes her last back-handspring, Kimberly lands on her feet and she lets loose a kick to the ribs that makes Putty #5 stagger back. Putty #6 gets to Kimberly from behind, it pulls her by the hair with its right hand and then grabs her by the throat with the left. Kimberly struggles to get loose and Putty #5 delivers a kick to Kimberly's stomach that makes her grunt in pain. Kimberly kicks Putty #6 on the chest with her left leg and then she stomps her right foot on Putty #6's foot, making him let her go. Kimberly spins to face Putty #6, letting loose a haymaker that knocks Putty #6 onto the sandy ground.

Elsewhere, Kat dodges Putty #7's right hook, she ducks under the Putty's left cross and as she stands up, Kat lets loose a side-kick to Putty #7's ribs. Kat lets loose a kick to the chest that knocks Putty #7 down to the ground and she turns to see Putty #8 charging at her. Putty #8 delivers a backhand that sends Kat reeling back a few steps and Putty #8 attempts a kick to the chest that Kat blocks. Kat counters with her own high kick that hits Putty #8's chest, knocking him back, and as she spins around she lets loose a high kick that hits Putty #8 across the face, knocking him to the sandy ground. Kat sees Putty #9 charging at her, but when it gets within range, she lets loose a back-kick that hits the Putty on the abdomen.

Meanwhile, Putty #10 lets out a jump-kick that hits Jason on the middle of his back and he falls forward. Jason does a recovery roll forward on the sand, he gets to his feet and he turns to see Putty #10 launching another kick. Jason slaps the kick aside, he rams an elbow onto Putty #10's face and then he lets loose a spinning heel kick that knocks the Putty down. Jason turns to see Putty #11 let loose a jump-kick, but Jason ducks and the Putty sails over him. The Putty lands on his feet, and then he turns to Jason and attempts a right side-kick that Jason blocks. Jason lets loose a high kick with his left foot that Putty #11 catches with both hands and Jason smiles. Jason spins around and uses his right foot to kick Putty #11 across the face.

* * *

Meanwhile, in Finster's workshop, Rita looks over the table of monsters. Finster is still sculpting his newest creation.

RITA: "You've certainly come up with a lot of hideous new creations this time, Finster."

FINSTER: "Thank you, my queen. I always try to do my nastiest for you."

Rita looks at one of a hedgehog sculpt with fingerless gloves, brass knuckles, a belt, knee-high boots and a mask that covers the upper half of his face while leaving the eyes exposed.

RITA: "What's this one supposed to be, a hedgehog?"

Finster smiles with pride. He'd wanted to make this sculpt ever since Rita had demanded he make a musical monster, back when the Rangers were teens.

FINSTER: "Yes, my queen. It's a fire-breathing hedgehog named Hedgehot. I've actually wanted to make this one for a long time."

RITA: "Well, it looks nasty enough. You want it, you've got it. It'd better be good, Finster."

FINSTER: "It will be, my queen, I promise."

Finster walks over, he picks up the Hedgehot sculpt and he sets it on the conveyor belt. Finster wheels the monster into the machine, then he closes the door and pulls the lever back and then forth. Smoke spews from the exhaust pipe while the Monster Matic is active and, a few seconds later, a puff of smoke emerges from the exit tube. Hedgehot stands under it, his body red with black spines and the boots, belt, gloves and mask are also black. Smoke comes out of Hedgehot's mouth as he laughs evilly.

RITA: "It's even nastier in person! Good work, Finster! Are you ready to follow my commands?"

HEDGEHOT: "Of course, my empress, how can I serve you?"

RITA: "Listen closely."

Rita smiles and chuckles with wicked glee.

* * *

Back at the beach, Zack dodges Putty #12's slash with his right bladed hand and he retaliates with a kick to the ribs. Zack throws a punch at Putty #12, but he catches Zack's fist with his normal left hand and he pulls, sending Zack landing on his back on the sand. Putty #12 slashes at Zack with his bladed hand, but he moves his head aside and the blade stabs into the sand. Zack gets up to his feet and he sees Putty #12 try to pull his bladed hand out of the ground, but it's stuck. Zack turns and sees Putty #13 move in to attack, but Zack holds up his hands.

ZACK: "Whoa, wait a second!"

Putty #13 stops in place, confused. Zack points at Putty #12 and he tries to pull his blade out of the ground. Putty #12 garbles indistinctly, but clearly frustrated.

ZACK: "Aren't you going to help him?"

Putty #13 walks over, he grabs Putty #12 by his right wrist and he helps him pull. They try once and then they try again, but are unsuccessful in pulling the blade out. The two Putties pull once more and the blade comes out of the ground. Zack applauds them.

ZACK: "Good job, guys."

Putties #12 and #13 garble happily and the two shake hands, proud of their teamwork.

ZACK: "One more thing, you two."

The Putties turn to Zack as he jumps up and kicks his legs out, with each foot hitting the Putties in the face. Putties #12 and #13 land on the sand, while Zack lands on his feet and he grins at the two unconscious Putties. He couldn't believe they'd fallen for that.

ZACK: "Same old clay-heads."

Meanwhile, Tommy delivers a spinning heel kick to Putty #14 that knocks him aside. Tommy turns and sees Putty #15 let loose a foot-sweep kick that hits Tommy behind the ankles and he is knocked down. Tommy lands on his back and Putty #15 punches its ball-shaped left hand at Tommy, but he rolls aside and it hits the sand instead. Tommy kicks his foot up, hitting Putty #15 on the side of his head, and he flips up onto his feet as Putty #15 stumbles aside. Tommy sees Putty #15 turn to him, but he sends him down with a kick to the forehead and the Putty lies defeated. Putty #16 approaches Tommy and he turns to face it, only to stagger back as the Putty kicks him on the ribs. Tommy ducks under Putty #16's spinning heel kick and then he knocks Putty #16 down with a foot-sweep kick. Tommy delivers a follow-up kick to Putty #16's face, knocking him out.

Elsewhere, Kimberly flips forward, she lands on her hands and she grabs Putty #1 by the neck with her ankles. Kimberly pulls the Putty forward with her legs and flips him over, making the Putty crash-land on its back on the sand as she simultaneously lands on her feet. She moves away from the Putty and looks to her left. She sees Jason knock Putty #2 across the face with a tornado kick, making Putty #2 lie unconscious, and she looks to her right to see Ethan knock Putty #3 down with a spinning heel kick. The six Rangers get into fighting stances and they look at the defeated Putties on the ground. They teleport away and the Rangers exchange grim looks.

ZACK: "Some weekend this is turning out to be."

KAT: "I have a bad feeling it's not over yet, you guys."

Hedgehot teleports down and lands on the beach, near the Rangers. The six Rangers step back, startled by his arrival.

HEDGEHOT: "How right you are, Ranger!"

ETHAN: "Is that a hedgehog? Rita and Zedd can't be serious."

HEDGEHOT: "The name is Hedgehot, and I am deadly serious!"

Hedgehot spits out a fireball at the Rangers and they leap away as it hits the ground. As it hits the sand, it creates a small explosion like a land mine went off. The six Rangers stand and regroup.

TOMMY: "Let's do it, guys!"

The Rangers reach behind their backs for their Power Morphers.

JASON: "It's Morphin Time!"

The six Rangers hold out their Power Morphers, they push their thumb on the red side button and the Morpher cases pop open to become active.

TOMMY: "Dragonzord!"

ZACK: "Mastodon!"

KIMBERLY: "Pterodactyl!"

ETHAN: "Triceratops!"

KAT: "Saber-Toothed Tiger!"

JASON: "Tyrannosaurus!"

The six morph into their Power Rangers costumes and they get into fighting stances. Hedgehot laughs at them.

HEDGEHOT: "My, what bright, colorful costumes you have! Let's see if they're fireproof!"

Hedgehot shoots a stream of fire from his mouth and the six Rangers leap aside in different directions. Red Ranger draws his Blade Blaster gun, he fires a few red beams and they sparkly hit Hedgehot's chest and shoulders. Hedgehot ends his flame breath attack as he stumbles back.

RED RANGER: "Zack, use your Power Axe on this creep!"

BLACK RANGER: "I'm on it, Jase!"

Black Ranger grabs his Power Axe, he switches it to cannon mode and he pushes a purple button. He fires an icy mist from the Axe's barrel and Hedgehot shoots a burst of flames from his mouth to push it back. The two blasts are evenly matched and neither manages to extinguish the other. Hedgehot aims his hands forward and he shoots bursts of flames from his hands. The triple flame blasts extinguish the icy mist and they hit Black Ranger with a burst of sparks. He's knocked to the ground and he moans in pain.

RED RANGER: "Zack!"

The Blue and Yellow Rangers rush over and they see that the left shoulder, right sleeve and chest of Black Ranger's costume have been burnt.

BLUE RANGER: "Are you okay?"

BLACK RANGER: (grunting) "Aw, man! That fire almost ate through my suit!"

HEDGEHOT: "Looks like I'll just have to turn up the heat to do that!"

Hedgehot charges at the Rangers to attack, just as Red Ranger pulls his Power Sword from behind his back and he holds it out with both hands. Jason intended to make that freak pay for hurting one of his oldest friends.

RED RANGER: "Oh, not you won't! Let's get him, guys!"

Green Ranger draws his Dragon Dagger and the other Rangers hold up their Power Weapons. They run at Hedgehot to attack. Red Ranger moves in first and he slashes his sword at Hedgehot, but he blocks it and sparkly knocks Red Ranger aside with a punch to the chest. Blue Ranger moves in next and he swipes his Power Lance at Hedgehot, but he dodges the attack. Hedgehot knees Blue Ranger's stomach and then he knocks Blue Ranger aside with a sparkly slash to the chest. Pink Ranger swats her Power Bow at Hedgehot and the monster blocks it. Pink Ranger high kicks Hedgehot's chest, he stumbles back and recovers. Hedgehot blocks Pink Ranger's next kick and he sparkly knocks her back with a kick to the gut. Yellow Ranger moves in next and she sparkly slashes Hedgehot's chest with one of her Power Daggers. Hedgehot stumbles back, but he recovers and dodges her next attack with her Power Daggers. Hedgehot sparkly slashes Yellow Ranger's chest, knocking her aside, and Green Ranger moves in to attack. Hedgehot dodges Green Ranger's high kick, but Green Ranger manages to sparkly slash Hedgehot across the chest and Hedgehot stumbles back. Hedgehot slashes at Green Ranger with his left hand, but Green Ranger blocks it and delivers another slash with his Dragon Dagger, with a trail of green light following the blade.

Hedgehot clutches his chest as he stumbles back, unaware that Black Ranger had moved in. He sparkly slashes Hedgehot across the ribs with his Axe, paying the monster back for his earlier heat blasts. Hedgehot quickly knocks Black Ranger aside with a slash to the stomach. Red Ranger quickly moves in to protect Black Ranger and he delivers a high kick that Hedgehot smacks aside. Hedgehot sparkly slashes Red Ranger across the chest, making him stumble back, and Hedgehot attempts another slash. Red Ranger dodges, he slashes Hedgehot's ribs with his Power Sword and then a trail of red light follows the blade as Red Ranger sparkly slashes his Sword down Hedgehot's chest. Hedgehot is knocked down, he hits the ground rolling and when he stops, Hedgehot gets to one knee, clutching his chest.

HEDGEHOT: "Enough of this! Why should I stoop to hand to hand combat when I can roast all of you at once?"

Hedgehot's eyes glow a fiery orange, he opens his mouth and he holds his hands up with the palms facing the Rangers. Hedgehot shoots a stream of energy from his mouth and his hands that hits each Ranger and sparks fly off their suits as they stumble back. Hedgehot follows up by shooting fiery orange beams from his eyes, turning his head to see each Ranger as he incessantly fires the beams, and the beams knock each Ranger to the ground one by one. Red Ranger, however, manages to leap aside and he draws his Blade Blaster. He opens fire and the beams knock Hedgehot as they sparkly hit his left shoulder, ribs and abdomen. They wouldn't get a chance to form the Power Blaster at the rate this creep was opening fire, but Jason had an alternative plan in mind.

RED RANGER: "Zack, hit him with the freeze blast again! Quick!"

BLACK RANGER: "On it!"

Black Ranger gets to one knee as he aims his Power Axe at Hedgehot, he pushes the purple button and he shoots the icy mist from the Axe again. Red Ranger goes to Green Ranger as the other four wounded Rangers get to one knee.

RED RANGER: "Tommy, I've got an idea! I need to borrow your equipment!"

GREEN RANGER: "Gotcha, bro!"

While Black Ranger still fires the icy blast, Green Ranger hands Red Ranger his Dagger and he takes it in his left hand as his right touches Green Ranger's chest armor. The Dragon Shield and its arm bands are transferred onto Red Ranger with a flash of neon green grid lines. Red Ranger turns to see the icy mist has covered Hedgehot's mouth and hands. Hedgehot growls angrily and the icy starts to melt, even as Black Ranger keeps spraying.

BLACK RANGER: "Get him now, Jase! He'll melt that ice off any second!"

Hedgehot sees Red Ranger charging at him and the blades of the Dagger and Sword glow with green and red energy, respectively. Black Ranger ends the icy mist as Red Ranger gets close and he gives a karate cry as he slashes the Power Sword with his right hand. Red Ranger then slashes the Dragon Dagger with his left hand and Hedgehot screams in pain as he falls over. Hedgehot vanishes in an explosion and Red Ranger lowers the weapons.

RED RANGER: "Yeah!"

The other Rangers run over to congratulate Red Ranger. He hands the Dragon Dagger to Green Ranger, who takes it in his left hand as his right touches the Dragon Shield. The Shield and arm bands are transferred back onto Green Ranger.

GREEN RANGER: "Great job, bro!"

RED RANGER: "Thanks, man! Is everyone okay?"

BLACK RANGER: "Yeah, we're fine."

* * *

At the palace balcony, Rita watches the Earth angrily and she holds up her Magic Wand.

RITA: "Not for long, Rangers! Magic Wand, make my monster GROW!"

She throws the Magic Wand at the Earth, which magically soars to Angel Grove.

* * *

The Magic Wand drops down from the sky, it stabs into the ground at Angel Grove Beach and red electric energy shoots from the wand into the ground, creating a pit. Smoke rises up from the pit, recreating Hedgehot and the monster grows giant-sized. The Rangers move back, startled, and Hedgehot laughs at the Rangers.

HEDGEHOT: "Time to fry, Rangers!"

Hedgehot shoots a stream of flames at the Rangers, but they leap away and dodge the flames.

RED RANGER: "We've got to stop this freak fast! We need Dinozord power, now!"

The Zords emerge from their hiding spots, one by one. The Tyrannosaurus rises from a volcanic pit in one unknown location, while the Mastodon marches down from a frozen area in another location, the Triceratops rolls ahead from out of a desert, the Saber-Toothed Tiger runs away from an unknown jungle, and the Pterodactyl flies out and away from a volcano in an unknown location. Green Ranger nods as he holds up his Dragon Dagger.

GREEN RANGER: "I need Dragonzord power!"

Green Ranger holds his Dragon Dagger like a flute and he plays the Dragonzord fanfare. Dragonzord rises up from out of the ocean and it walks onto land to join the others.

The five Dinozords and Dragonzord head over to the Rangers. The five Rangers, except Green, run to their Zords, they leap to their Zords and enter the cockpits, one by one.

RED RANGER: "Log on!"

BLACK RANGER: "Zack here, movin' to the groove!"

BLUE RANGER: "Ethan here, logging on!"

YELLOW RANGER: "Kat here, ready to rock!"

PINK RANGER: "Let's get rid of this hothead!"

RED RANGER: "Rangers, power up!"

Red Ranger inserts his newly-formed Red Power Crystal into the outlet of his controls. The other four Rangers have formed their Power Crystals and they too insert them into their console's outlet.

FOUR RANGERS: "Two, one, mark!"

RED RANGER: "All right! Let's bring 'em together, guys!"

* * *

As usual, the five Dinozords are drawn together to form Megazord.

COMPUTER VOICE: "Megazord sequence has been initiated."

Once combined, the Zords stand up and complete the change into Megazord battle mode.

COMPUTER VOICE: "Megazord activated!"

Megazord stands battle ready, with Dragonzord nearby.

* * *

On the palace balcony, Rita watches Earth with her telescope and she laughs wickedly. Domminnous and Zedd also watch the fight with their telescope and eyebeam, respectively.

RITA: "Finish them off, Hedgehot!"

* * *

In Angel Grove, Hedgehot has walked away from the beach and to the city. Megazord and Dragonzord stand battle ready.

HEDGEHOT: "Let's see how tough your overgrown tin cans _really_ are!"

Hedgehot hunches over and his spines glow white-hot. He fires six spines off its back like missiles, three at each Zord, and sparks fly off Megazord and Dragonzord as they stumble back from the hits. Hedgehot then curls itself into a ball and he rolls at the Zords like a bowling ball.

GREEN RANGER: "Dragonzord, tail whip now!"

Green Ranger plays a tune on his Dagger flute and Dragonzord lets loose a tail-whip that sends Hedgehot flying back. Hedgehot gets out of his ball form as he hits the ground rolling and then he angrily stands up.

HEDGEHOT: "I'll get you for that!"

Hedgehot aims his hands forward, he opens his mouth and he shoots flames from his open mouth and palms. The blasts hit Megazord and Dragonzord with a shower of sparks, knocking them back. Hedgehot continues to shoot his flame blasts and sparks fly off the two Zords. The heat was affecting the cockpit of Megazord and Black Ranger's computer shuts off completely.

YELLOW RANGER: "The circuits are melting!"

PINK RANGER: "Our systems are overheating! We need to put out those fires!"

RED RANGER: "You've got it! Mammoth Shield!"

The Mammoth Shield appears in Megazord's left hand. The Mammoth Shield shoots out an icy spray that hits the flames. The flames start to get pushed back by the icy spray.

HEDGEHOT: "No! _No!_"

RED RANGER: "We can't douse the flames!"

PINK RANGER: "But maybe _that_ can! Look!"

Pink Ranger points to her left and the Rangers look at the beach.

PINK RANGER: "Let's give this creep a bath!"

YELLOW RANGER: "Great idea, Kimberly!"

GREEN RANGER: "One soggy hedgehog coming up!"

Green Ranger plays a tune on his Dagger flute and the Mammoth Shield ends the frost breath. Dragonzord lets loose a tail-whip that knocks Hedgehot aside and he rolls to a stop out of the city, barely missing buildings and parked cars.

RED RANGER: "Cranial laser, now!"

The Megazord fires its cranial laser, hitting Hedgehot with a burst of sparks and he lets out a startled cry as he's sent flying backwards to the beach. Hedgehot lands in the ocean, creating an enormous splash.

FIVE RANGERS: "Mega-Dragonzord power, now!"

Dragonzord's chestplate detaches and comes out, as the Zord's body splits upwards to make room for Megazord. Megazord connects onto Dragonzord, forming Mega-Dragonzord. Hedgehot gets up to his feet in the ocean and he tries to shoot flames from his hands, but they're dripping wet.

HEDGEHOT: "No! I can't use my flames!"

Mega-Dragonzord stands on the beach in front of Hedgehot, powering up.

ALL FIVE RANGERS: "Fire!"

Mega-Dragonzord creates a green ball of energy with a red z in it and the ball is surrounded by sparkling blue energy, a.k.a. its Z-sphere. Mega-Dragonzord fires the Z-sphere, hitting Hedgehot, and the monster screams as he falls back into the ocean. The monster explodes, destroyed by the sphere. The Rangers cheer their victory.

* * *

Back at the Palace, Rita is as livid as Domminnous and Zedd are by the Rangers' victory.

RITA: "Another failure! I don't believe it!"

Rita storms off the balcony and into the throne room. _That_ was the great monster Finster had wanted to make all those years? That failure?

RITA: "_Finster! I want to talk to you! NOW!_"

* * *

Inside the Juice Bar and Diner at Angel Grove Plaza, Laura, who is now wearing in a T-shirt, jeans and sneakers, is seated at the bar. It'd been quite a while since she'd last seen Ethan and his friends and she was getting really worried about their safety. Did those Putties hurt them? Did they get away? Why hadn't Ethan and his friends come by yet? Bulk and Skull look at her reassuringly as Bulk hands her a large cup of soda.

BULK: "Don't worry about the others. I'm sure they're all right."

SKULL: "Yeah, I'm sure they're all right."

Bulk rams his elbow into Skull's side and he grimaces.

SKULL: "I mean, they'll be here soon."

BULK: "We faced some pretty bad characters here ever since we were teenagers. Lord Zedd, Rita, both sets of their Putties, those ugly Tenga birds, Divatox..."

SKULL: "And that was just during our time in high school."

Laura looks at them, surprised. The six unmorphed Rangers, wearing their civilian clothes again, enter the Juice Bar.

ETHAN: "Laura?"

Laura looks over at them, relieved to see the Rangers. Laura rushes over and she hugs Ethan, taking him completely by surprise.

LAURA: "Thank goodness you guys are all right!"

ETHAN: "I told you we would be. See? We all got out in one piece."

Laura ends the hug and she walks with the Rangers to the bar, still a bit shocked.

LAURA: "How'd you guys get away from those Putties?"

TOMMY: "By the time Ethan got to us, the Power Rangers showed up and chased them away. We got out while they were fighting."

BULK: "Then you guys must've missed all the excitement afterwards! We heard on the radio that the Rangers fought this hedgehog monster and blew it up with their Zords!"

KAT: "I think we've had enough excitement for one day!"

ETHAN: "Well, now that we're back here, why don't we buy them a drink? I mean, why don't they buy you a drink? I mean..."

Ethan looks away, trying not to blush. Why did his brain have to shut off every time he tried to speak to her? Laura giggles. That was the Ethan she knew and liked.

LAURA: "I'd love a drink, thank you."

She holds Ethan's hand and he looks at her with surprise. He gives her a shy smile. The other Rangers exchange grins at the sight of the two.

ZACK: "This one's on me. Hey, can you grab us some milkshakes, please?"

BULK: "Coming right up!"

Bulk walks off and begins to pour the milkshakes into seven large cups. Skull walks over and he smiles at Laura and the Rangers.

SKULL: "Anyway, like we were saying before, we've met our fair share of monsters before here in Angel Grove. Like that one time that big gold guy... what's his name again? The gold one and the skeleton we had working for us when they lost their memories?"

As Skull tries to remember Goldar's name, the Rangers exchange shocked looks. Ethan had heard of some of the Rangers' past adventures, but he didn't hear about that one before. Skull quickly shrugs it off, eager to get back to the story.

SKULL: "Anyway, Bulk and I were in the garage one day when all of a sudden these two monsters come in and we got so scared, we ran around the room screaming till the four of us bonked heads! Wham!"

On the "Wham!", Skull slaps his hand back and into the approaching Bulk. He knocks the tray of drinks out of Bulk's hand and they sail over Skull and spill all over Laura and the Rangers. Some of the customers who saw what happened burst out laughing. The Rangers and Laura look at the milkshakes spilled over them in disgust. Bulk glares at Skull, who shrugs sheepishly.

SKULL: "Like I said, I'm paying for the drinks out of my paycheck and I'll go get the towels to clean up!"

Skull quickly turns and runs to the back room to grab the towels.


	6. Chapter 6 The Need for Speed

On Monday, July 14th, in his classroom at Angel Grove High School, Tommy is seated alone at his desk and he is grading papers. He is wearing a long-sleeved shirt over his t-shirt, jeans, socks and sneakers. His class had been gone for a short while now. Teaching classes at summer school was fairly full this year, but Tommy didn't care. After all, he'd take grading test scores over sending a high kick to the face of a Putty Patroller any day of the week. Kat walks into the room, wearing a T-shirt, jeans, socks and shoes. She smiles at the sight of Tommy grading papers.

KAT: "Hey. Are you ready to go meet up with the others at that motorcycle stunt show?"

TOMMY: "Yeah, I'll be right there. I'm almost finished grading these papers."

Kat walks up and she puts her hand on Tommy's shoulder.

KAT: "All right, but don't be too long. Ethan's got some kind of surprise for us at the show."

TOMMY: "He does?"

KAT: "Yeah, I just spoke with him over the phone. He said he had some big surprise for us once we arrive."

Tommy smiles as he holds Kat's hand and gently squeezes it.

TOMMY: "Then let's not keep him waiting. I'll be out in a second, Kat."

Kat nods, she lets go of Tommy's hand and she walks off.

* * *

At the balcony of the Lunar Palace, Rita and Domminnous watch Tommy through their telescopes, while Zedd uses his telescopic eyebeam. Zedd ends his telescopic beam as Domminnous looks at the duo in confusion.

DOMMINNOUS: "What is this motorcycle show they were babbling about?"

ZEDD: "Drivers get on motorcycles and purposefully risk their lives to do tricks, just to entertain the people in the crowd! It's so foolish, I love it! In fact, this motorcycle show has given me an idea for a new monster, the perfect one to send down and destroy the Power Rangers!"

Zedd turns and looks at the Earth.

ZEDD (CONT'D): "We'll let the Rangers enjoy the show, for now. It will be the last performance they ever attend!"

* * *

At the enormous arena, Jason, Kimberly and Zack are waiting in line at the front side. The trio are wearing T-shirts, pants, socks and sneakers. Tommy and Kat walk down the parking lot and they walk over to join their friends.

JASON: "Hey, guys. Have you seen Ethan?"

TOMMY: "I thought he was in line with you guys."

The front door opens and Ethan walks out, clad in a T-shirt, jeans, socks and shoes. He smiles at his friends.

ETHAN: "Hey, guys. Come on inside. I've already gotten our tickets."

TOMMY: "You have?"

ETHAN: "Trust me, come on in. You won't believe this."

The five Rangers glance at one another in confusion. They follow Ethan into the arena and Ethan smiles as he shuts the door behind them.

* * *

The six Rangers walk over and stand in the hall of the arena. Ethan stops walking, which makes the others stop, and they eye him in confusion as Ethan holds out his hands.

ETHAN: "Here, take them."

KAT: "Take what?"

ETHAN: "Your passes, of course."

The other Rangers look on in shock as they see Ethan is holding six VIP badges in his hands, which have red strings around them so they can be worn around a person's neck. The other Rangers take their passes and put them on around their necks, as Ethan does the same.

TOMMY: "Wow, thanks, man!"

JASON: "That's really nice of you, Ethan, but we'll pay you back for this. It must've cost you a small fortune for these passes."

Ethan just smiles. He couldn't wait to share his real surprise with his friends. After all, they'd already done so much for him, especially since they took him in as a Power Ranger and helped him with his training.

ETHAN: "No, they weren't, actually. Come with me, you're going to love this."

Ethan walks off down the hallway and the other Rangers exchange puzzled looks. They follow Ethan down the hallway.

* * *

In a special backstage lounge, the motorcycle stunt performers are seated around the room on chairs or couches, wearing their racing uniforms. Among them are a mid-20s bald, lean-muscled African-American man, JON JACOBS, a late-20s lean-muscled man with brown hair, LOUIS HILL, and a late-20s woman with long auburn hair, MELISSA REED. With them is a mid-20s woman with long brunette hair, KERRI, and an early-40s man with black hair and a goatee, their manager RICHARD JUSKO.

JUSKO: "All right, guys, twenty minutes until the show starts."

There is a knock on the door. Ethan opens the door and he smiles.

ETHAN: "Hey, have you got a minute?"

KERRI: "Of course, come on in."

Ethan walks in and the other Rangers follow him in. Kerri and the cyclists smile at the entering Rangers.

KERRI: "Hello, Ethan. Come on in."

ETHAN: "Hey, cousin. Hello, Louis. It's good to see you both."

The Rangers look at Ethan in surprise. They'd known him for quite some time, but this was something they clearly hadn't heard about him before.

KAT: "Your cousin works with the stunt cyclists?"

TOMMY: "Wait, you know one of the stunt cyclists?"

ETHAN: "Of course. Louis and I were best friends in high school back in London. Who do you think taught me how to ride a motorcycle?"

LOUIS: "It's a shame you had to sell it. I could pull a few strings and get you a new motorcycle, if you want. It's no problem."

ETHAN: "That's not necessary. I'd like you to meet my friends. This is Tommy, his wife Katherine, Kimberly, her fiancé Jason, and this is my roommate, Zack."

MELISSA: "It's nice to meet you all. The other cyclists will be here in a few minutes, but we won't be able to visit long because of our stunt show."

Richard hangs up the phone as he looks at the others.

JUSKO: "Don't worry, they can visit after the show. We'll get some food ready when the show's over. You guys might want to get your seats, and my clients need to get ready to perform."

JON: "We'll see you guys after we're done performing. We'd better get going."

ETHAN: "Sure thing. See you guys later."

The Rangers walk to the exit, Tommy opens the door and he walks out of the room with the others following him out.

* * *

The Rangers step out and into the hallway. They see Bulk, Skull and Spike, also with VIP badges around their necks, walking down the hall. Both groups are pleasantly surprised to see the other.

BULK: "Hey, guys."

ETHAN: "Hey, Bulk. You guys got VIP badges, too?"

SKULL: "We sure did. Spike did a good job in summer school and with his latest test, so we decided to celebrate by taking him here."

SPIKE: "I can't wait to meet Louis Hill! He's my favorite cyclist!"

ETHAN: "Yeah, mine too. Let's go watch the show."

SPIKE: "Sounds good to me!"

The six Rangers walk with Bulk, Skull and Spike down the hall.

* * *

At the Lunar Palace, Lord Zedd walks into the throne room, where Rito, Goldar and Scorpina stand waiting. Rita and Domminnous follow Zedd into the room.

ZEDD: "Their show is about to begin. Now is the time to strike! Goldar! Take Scorpina and Rito with you to the arena! You will retrieve the item necessary to create my monster!"

Baboo and Squatt, who have been watching from the doorway, quickly rush into the room.

BABOO: "What about us? Can we go too?"

ZEDD: "Stop sniveling! You two clods are hardly useful in fighting the Rangers! What're you going to do, whine at them to death?"

SQUATT: "Well, we'd do anything you tell us to."

BABOO: "Don't listen to him! We'd do a good job helping, you'll see!"

ZEDD: "Silence! I have made my decision! Get to the arena and await for my monster to join you!"

RITO: "Right away, Ed!"

Goldar, Scorpina and Rito teleport away. Zedd groans and he shakes his head. Baboo and Squatt walk down the throne room.

BABOO: "It's not fair. We never get to go anywhere."

SQUATT: "Yeah, Rita and Zedd are never going to take us seriously."

Baboo smiles at Squatt.

BABOO: "That's it! Come on!"

Baboo rushes out and Squatt quickly follows after him. A plan had just come to Baboo's mind, one that'd show they had what it took to show Rita and Zedd they could be taken seriously and help them finish off the Power Rangers.

* * *

The arena is enormous, with different ramps and rings set up on different areas of the dirt ground. The six Rangers have taken their front row seats in the audience, while Bulk and Skull are also seated elsewhere in the front row. A man in a work uniform, the announcer DAN SIMMONS, stands in the arena, holding his microphone.

DAN: "Ladies and gentlemen, have we got a special treat in store for you this evening! We have several of the best stunt cyclists in the business performing here at the Angel Grove West Plaza! First up is a famous performer who needs no real introduction, whose debut years ago made him the youngest stunt cyclist in Stone Canyon history, Jon Jacobs!"

Jon drives out into the arena, and he already has on his motorcycle jacket and helmet that have the logo Stone Canyon Crushers written on it. Jon revs up his engine as the crowd applauds him. Jon puts his legs over the handlebars, performing a quick "high chair" stunt, and then he puts his legs down as he revs his engine and drives to a ramp. Jon goes to the first hill, revs his engine and he does a 360 degree flip through the air before safely landing down the ramp at the other side. The audience applauds the stunt and safe landing. A female, Asian-American cyclist with short dark hair - KELLY HOSHI - comes out on her cycle, putting on her helmet.

DAN: "Next up, the fastest cyclist to come out of Angel Grove, Kelly Hoshi is going to perform her new routine!"

The audience applauds as Kelly revs her engine, she heads off down the arena and to her own ramp. She races up, speeds off and as she goes airborne she holds onto the handlebars with both hands as her body goes upside-down and her legs are close together up in the air, making the audience cheer.

DAN: "What an amazing lift!"

Kelly sits on her motorcycle just as she reaches the next hill and she makes a safe landing that the audience applauds.

* * *

On the southeast side of the arena, there is a room where drivers can ride in and out. A six-foot-plus tall stunt cyclist with a bodybuilder-like physique and red hair, AL BENSON, lies unconscious on the floor. Rito and Scorpina stand at either side of Al, while Goldar holds onto the handlebars of Al's motorcycle.

GOLDAR: "I've got the item you requested, your wickedness."

* * *

On the palace balcony, Lord Zedd looks at the Earth with his telescopic beam. He then ends the beam and aims his Z-staff at the Earth.

ZEDD: "Excellent! It's time for my new monster to emerge - the Speed Demon!"

Zedd laughs as he shoots an electrical beam from his Z-staff.

* * *

Back in the stadium, the crowd watches the arena with awe. With a burst of white light, the audience's attention is turned to the open side door at the southeast side of the arena. Zooming out on his motorcycle, wearing a leather jacket and black pants with flame patterns stitched onto both, is the SPEED DEMON monster. His head is covered by a helmet, but the helmet reveals his fiery red eyes, dark grayish-black skin and devil-like ears and horns that poke out of the holes in his helmet. The audience cheers, but Dan and the cyclists on the arena are confused.

KELLY: "Did Al change his costume?

DAN: "Ladies and gentlemen, it seems we have a mystery cyclist here on the arena."

Tommy and Jason glance at one another firmly. Speed Demon rushes by Jon, he kicks Jon's motorcycle and sends him flying ahead off his cycle. He hits the ground rolling, much to the shock of the audience and the cyclists. Jon gets up, more surprised than hurt, and he dusts himself off.

JON: "What the blazes are you doing?"

SPEED DEMON: "Ah, you want to see me blaze."

Speed Demon's red eyes glow. The fire patterns on the sleeves of his jacket turn to actual fire and the wheels light up red, turning fiery.

SPEED DEMON: "I'll show you how hot I can really burn!"

Speed Demon revs the engine of his cycle, he drives off down the floor leaving a trail of fire from his back tire, and he goes up a ramp. As he soars up higher into the air, Speed Demon turns his head to the right and he shoots red beams of energy from his eyes. The beams hit a chunk of the dirt ground and it creates an explosion. The crowd starts SCREAMING and they flee from their seats.

DAN: "Ladies and gentlemen, please clear the arena!"

Bulk, Skull and Spike quickly run out of the room. The six Rangers follow them out. SPEED DEMON LAUGHS and teleports away.

* * *

As the crowd of people run off SCREAMING into the hallway, the Rangers run off to the opposite side of the hall.

JASON: (voice lowered) "Come on, guys, let's get to work."

TOMMY: "You got it."

The Rangers round a corner, out of sight, and they get to the far end of the hallway. They look around and find they're alone. No cameras, not a soul in sight. They hear the last of the people have run out. It was all clear. Jason nods firmly at his teammates and the six Rangers reach behind their backs for their Morphers.

JASON: "It's Morphin Time!"

The Rangers hold out their Power Morphers, they push their thumb on the red button on the side of the Morpher cases and the cases pop open. Red LED lights flash in the red center layer of the Morpher, indicating they're active.

TOMMY: "Dragonzord!"

ZACK: "Mastodon!"

KIMBERLY: "Pterodactyl!"

ETHAN: "Triceratops!"

KAT: "Saber-Toothed Tiger!"

JASON: "Tyrannosaurus!"

A fiery red grid appears over Jason's head and it splits vertically, becoming the Red Ranger helmet.

* * *

At the rock quarry, Speed Demon zooms ahead on his motorcycle. He stops his cycle in the middle of the quarry.

SPEED DEMON: "That's better! There's much more room to drive around on out here!"

He looks around and taps his fingers on the handlebars, waiting. He may have been here for less than ten seconds, but to a monster as fast as Speed Freak, it felt much longer.

SPEED DEMON: "I hope those Rangers get here soon. I can't wait to destroy them!"

GREEN RANGER: "Looking for us?"

Speed Demon turns and sees the six fully-morphed Power Rangers standing by a cliff nearby.

SPEED DEMON: "There you are! Lord Zedd wants me to make road-kill out of you rotten Rangers!"

BLUE RANGER: "Oh, please, you're not going to be making racing puns during this fight, are you?"

Speed Demon mockingly holds his hand to one ear.

SPEED DEMON: "You're too far! I can't hear you!"

Speed Demon revs his Rangers, he drives at blinding speed at the Rangers and he draws twin fiery swords from behind his back. Before they can react, Speed Demons slashes each Ranger, one by one, at blinding speed with his swords as he zips by them. A burst of sparks flies off each Ranger's chest as they're struck and they go down with startled GRUNTS. Speed Demon turns around to face the Rangers and he CHUCKLES at them, amused.

SPEED DEMON: "There! What were you saying?"

BLACK RANGER: "Why you -"

He draws his Blade Blaster to fire, but Speed Demon speeds by at blinding speed. He slashes Black Ranger's chest with one sword, he knocks the Blaster out of his hand with the other sword, and BLACK RANGER GRUNTS as the dual hits knock him down. Blue Ranger gets to his feet to attack, reaching for his Blade Blaster, but Speed Demon turns and shoots red beams from his eyes that knock Blue Ranger down. Green Ranger draws his Dragon Dagger.

GREEN RANGER: "That's enough!"

RED RANGER: "Don't do it, Tommy! You attack him and he'll just knock you down too!"

SPEED DEMON: "You want to fight fair? Fine! I'll slow down to give you all a fighting chance!"

Speed Demon hops off his bike, holding up his dual swords. The Rangers, except Green, hold up their hands and their Power Weapons appear in their hands with a flash of Ranger-colored light.

GREEN RANGER: "Let's get him, guys!"

Green Ranger charges first and he slashes his Dagger at Speed Demon. He blocks the Dagger with his right hand's sword and simultaneously slashes Green Ranger's Dragon Shield chest armor. Green Ranger stumbles back and is knocked down with a kick to the gut. Blue Ranger moves in next to fight and he slashes his Power Lance at Speed Demon's chest. He blocks the Lance with his left hand's sword, he knocks Blue Ranger back with a kick to the ribs and then he knocks him aside as he slashes his right hand's sword across Blue Ranger's ribs. Yellow Ranger moves in and she blocks Speed Demon's attack with his swords with her Power Daggers. She pushes the swords back with her Daggers and she attempts a slash attack, but Speed Demon kicks Yellow Ranger's ribs. He follows up with a slash to Yellow Ranger's abdomen, knocking her to the ground. Pink Ranger leaps at Speed Demon and fires three Power Arrows, each glowing pink with energy. Speed Demon slashes each Arrow before they can hit him, she lands on the floor and manages to kick him at his stomach. Speed Demon blocks the attack and he slashes her chest with one sword, knocking her down and she hits the ground rolling. Black Ranger leaps at Speed Demon and he slashes his Power Axe at him, but the blocks the Axe with his swords. Speed Demon slashes Black Ranger's stomach with one sword, knocking him back, and then he slashes Black Ranger's chest with the other sword, knocking him aside. Red Ranger moves up next in protective anger, clutching the handle of his Power Sword tight with both hands.

RED RANGER: "Leave them alone!"

Red Ranger slashes his Power Sword, nearly hitting Speed Demon's chest, but at the last second he moves aside. Red Ranger turns around and he slashes his sword at Speed Demon, who blocks it with his right hand's sword. He simultaneously slashes Red Ranger's chest with his left hand's sword, raising sparks as Red Ranger stumbles back. Speed Demon slashes his left hand's sword at Red Ranger's neck, but he blocks it with his Power Sword. Speed Demon counters by slashing his right hand's sword across Red Ranger's chest, raising sparks as he falls and hits the ground rolling. Red Ranger stops, gets to one knee and the other Rangers gather around him.

SPEED DEMON: "Slowpokes!"

Speed Demon disappears, he re-appears on his motorcycle, and he revs his cycle. He zips by each Ranger, slashing his fiery swords and hitting their chests one by one. The six Rangers fall and hit the ground. Speed Demon then drives in a circle around the Rangers, getting faster and faster. A trail of fire follows his tires and he drives faster until he's too fast to be seen clearly. The ring of fire starts to get closer, moving closer to the Rangers. Though it was a few dozen or so feet away, the Rangers could still feel the heat of the flames on their costumes and it was quickly getting hotter.

BLUE RANGER: "Now what?"

* * *

In the Command Center, the Viewing Globe shows that Speed Demon is circling around the Rangers at super-speed and the ring of fire is quickly closing in on them. Dulcea, in her Amazonian outfit, and Ionisos, in his black robes, stand and watch the Viewing Globe. They look over at Alpha 5, who is pushing buttons.

ALPHA 5: "Ay yi yi! I've got to get them out of there!"

ZORDON: "Ionisos, get into the garage. It's time we get the new vehicles ready."

IONISOS: "But Zordon, they're not all complete! We only have three of them ready!"

ZORDON: "Then we'll have them use the three that are finished. They'll need them to defeat Speed Demon."

The six Rangers teleport into the Command Center in beams of their respective Ranger color and they look at Zordon.

BLACK RANGER: "Aw, man! That creep was literally running circles around us!"

YELLOW RANGER: "He's too fast! We couldn't lay a hand on him!"

ZORDON: "Rangers, Zedd's Speed Demon has a special motorcycle capable of going at speeds too great for your Ranger powers. In order to defeat this enemy, we're going to give you three special vehicles that will give you the speed necessary to defeat the monster."

IONISOS: "Follow us."

Ionisos, Dulcea, Zordon and Alpha 5 walk out and the six Rangers follow them.

* * *

The doors to the Command Center's garage open and Ionisos leads Dulcea, Zordon, Alpha 5 and the six Rangers in the room. Standing ready are the Mastodon, Triceratops and Tyrannosaurus BATTLE BIKES, all of which have long-since been completed. On the front of each Battle Bike are a machine gun on the Tyrannosaurus bike, two machine guns on the Triceratops bike and two mini-cannons on the Mastodon.

YELLOW RANGER: "Oh, wow!"

GREEN RANGER: "These are morphinomenal!"

IONISOS: "These are the Battle Bikes. They will assist you in battle against enemies too fast for you to catch and each bike has special firepower needed to fire at opponents with super-speed."

Black Ranger walks up to his Battle Bike and looks it over. The side car has the Saber-Toothed Tiger emblem on it, the same as Yellow Ranger's Power Coin.

ZORDON: "Zachary, your Mastodon Battle Bike is armed with a two mini-cannons in front that shoot purple beams and a special ice spray."

Blue Ranger looks over his Battle Bike in awe, noticing the Pterodactyl emblem on his Bike's side car, also the same as the one on Pink Ranger's Power Coin.

ZORDON: "Ethan, the Triceratops Battle Bike will serve you well, armed with two machine guns that shoot blue beams and double as flame throwers."

Red Ranger eyes his Battle Bike, a look of shock on his face behind his helmet. Unlike the others, his Bike doesn't have a side-car.

ZORDON: "Jason, the Tyrannosaurus Battle Bike had a machine gun that fires red lasers and also serves as a sonic blaster."

The Rangers look at Dulcea.

DULCEA" If the teleportation units should fail, you can also use them to drive to the Command Center. If unmorphed, both you and the Bikes will become invisible to avoid detection."

ZORDON: "The Green, Pink and Yellow Battle Bikes are not completed yet. For now, sidecars have been added to the Blue and Black Bikes. The side-car to the Red Bike was not finished in time."

GREEN RANGER: "Don't worry, Zordon, these will work out just fine."

ZORDON: "Be careful, Rangers, and may the Power protect you."

RED RANGER: "All right, guys, back to action!"

* * *

At the rock quarry, the six Rangers flip through the air, one at a time - Green leads, followed by Red, Pink, Black, Yellow and Blue. They land on the floor and get into fighting stances as Speed Demon spots them from afar. He LAUGHS as he revs his motorcycle, eager to resume his battle.

SPEED DEMON: "There you are! I wasn't done running circles around you yet!"

RED RANGER: "Let's even things up a little! Battle Bikes!"

The Mastodon, Tyrannosaurus and Triceratops Battle Bikes appear from a flash of purple, red and blue energy, respectively. Speed Demon looks shocked by the arrival of the Battle Bikes.

SPEED DEMON: "What?"

The three Rangers have gotten on their respective Battle Bikes. Pink Ranger is in Blue Ranger's side car and Yellow Ranger gets into Black Ranger's side car. Red Ranger wields his Power Sword in his right hand.

BLACK RANGER: "You've got your ride, we've got ours!"

RED RANGER: "Let's get him, Rangers!"

Speed Demon charges at the Rangers at super-speed. The Rangers rev their engines and return the charge. The Battle Bikes are of equal speed to that of the monster's motorcycle, much to Speed Demon's chagrin. Speed Demon slashes his sword at Red Ranger as he gets near, but he blocks with his Power Sword. Red Ranger turns right, moving away, and Blue Ranger shoots blue beams from his machine guns. The beams hit Speed Demon, raising sparks and nearly knocking him off his motorcycle. Speed Demon turns around to drive by again, when Black Ranger shoots purple beams from the two mini-cannons and they hit Speed Demon with a burst of sparks. He is knocked off his motorcycle and he hits the ground. Speed Demon gets up to get back to his motorcycle.

RED RANGER: "Oh, no you don't!"

Red Ranger shoots red beams from his Bike's machine gun, which hits Speed Demon and knocks him down. The Black Ranger shoots an icy spray from his cannons that freezes the front tire solid and Blue Ranger shoot beams of energy from his bike that hits the motorcycle, damaging it. Red Ranger drives forward and he holds out his Power Sword. The Sword's blade glows with red energy and he slashes it at the bike, slicing through it across the middle.

SPEED DEMON: "NO!"

RED RANGER: "Tommy, catch!"

Red Ranger tosses his still-energized Power Sword at Green Ranger, who charges at Speed Demon. Green Ranger catches the Sword with his left hand and his right holds his Dragon Dagger. The Dagger's blade glows with green energy and Speed Demon holds up his dual fiery swords. He slashes his swords at Green Ranger, but he blocks them with the Dragon Dagger and Power Sword. Speed Demon kicks Green Ranger's stomach, knocking him back and he tries to slash Green Ranger with his right hand's sword. Green Ranger blocks it with the Power Sword, pushing the sword back, and Speed Demon slashes his left hand's sword, but Green Ranger knocks the blade away with his Dagger's blade. Green Ranger quickly slashes the Power Sword across Speed Demon's chest, making him stumble back and glow with red energy. Green Ranger slashes the Dragon Dagger across Speed Demon's chest, raising sparks and making the monster glow with green energy. SPEED DEMON SCREAMS, he falls backwards and then he vanishes in an EXPLOSION. Green Ranger lowers the weapons, which are no longer glowing. Green Ranger tosses the sword to Red Ranger, who catches it in his right hand, and the other two Rangers stop their Battle Bikes.

* * *

The villains look on, enraged by the Rangers getting the upper hand. Lord Zedd puts his left hand back and a grow bomb appears in his hand with a flash of white light.

ZEDD: "It's time to finish this! Grow, my monster!"

Zedd throws the grow bomb at the Earth.

* * *

The grow bomb flies down through the air and then it lands at the quarry where Speed Demon was destroyed. There is a massive explosion and Speed Demon returns, now giant-sized. The six Rangers quickly move away.

RED RANGER: "Aw, man! Zordon, we need Dinozord power, now!"

GREEN RANGER: "I call on the power of Dragonzord!"

He holds his Dagger like a flute and plays the Dragonzord fanfare melody. The five summoned Dinozords run to the quarry. The Dragonzord quickly follows after them. The Rangers run to their respective Zord, they leap in the air and land in their Zord's cockpit.

RED RANGER: "Log on!"

BLACK RANGER: "Zack here, movin' to the groove!"

BLUE RANGER: "Ethan here, all systems online!"

YELLOW RANGER: "Kat here, set and ready!"

PINK RANGER: "Let's slow down this speed freak!"

Red Ranger holds up his Power Coin and uses it to create his Red Power Crystal.

RED RANGER: "Power up your crystals!"

He inserts his Crystal into his control console. The other Rangers create their Power Crystals of their respective Ranger color and they do the same.

FOUR RANGERS: "Two, one, power up!"

RED RANGER: "It's time for Megazord power!"

The five Dinozords draw together.

COMPUTER VOICE: "Megazord sequence has been initiated!"

As before, the five Zords combine, changing into Megazord and Megazord stands battle ready.

COMPUTER VOICE: "Megazord activated!"

Dragonzord stands next to Megazord and both stand battle ready.

SPEED DEMON: "You may have slowed me down, but I will still finish you off!"

Speed Demon runs over to attack the two Zords. Dragonzord approaches first and it lets loose a tail-whip that Speed Demon rolls under and he turns around. He sparkly slashes Dragonzord's back, making the Zord stumble forward, and turns to see Megazord approach. Megazord attempts a punch that Speed Demon dodges, the monster slashes Megazord's chest-plate with one sword and then he slashes Megazord's stomach with the other, raising sparks with both hits. Speed Demon crosses his sword, charging them up, and then a trail of fire follows the blades as he slashes them down Megazord's chest-plate. Megazord stumbles and falls, landing on its back.

BLACK RANGER: "Oh, man! This creep packs a punch!"

Speed Demon turns and charges at Dragonzord. He slashes his sword at Dragonzord's chest, knocking him back with a shower of sparks. Speed Demon tries again, but Dragonzord blocks his arm and pushes Speed Demon back. Dragonzord tail-whips Speed Demon and he stumbles back.

GREEN RANGER: "Dragonzord, use your missiles!"

He plays a tune on his Dagger like a flute. Missiles appear in Dragonzord's fingertips and then he fires. Speed Demon quickly leaps aside and the missiles head to Megazord, who is getting up to its feet. The missiles hit Megazord with a burst of sparks and the Zord stumbles back, nearly falling over.

GREEN RANGER: "Oh, no! Guys, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to!"

SPEED DEMON: "Then I'll do it!"

RED RANGER: "Mammoth Shield!"

Speed Demon shoots his fiery red eyebeams at Megazord, just as the Mammoth Shield forms over its left hand in a flash of neon green grid lines. Megazord holds the Mammoth Shield up and they deflect the blasts. Megazord retaliates by shooting a beam from its cranial laser and sparks fly off Speed Demon's chest as he stumbles back. Dragonzord moves over and tail-whips Speed Demon, knocking the monster down and he rolls to a stop. Speed Demon stands up, holding up his swords to make another attack attempt.

GREEN RANGER: "Let's try this again!"

He plays a tune on his Dagger and missiles appear in Dragonzord's fingertips. The missiles are fired and they hit Speed Demon with a burst of sparks, making him stumble back. The Rangers were slowing him down and this fight was only making him madder, more determined to finish them.

RED RANGER: "We need the Mega Power Sword, now!"

The Power Sword drops from the sky and Megazord catches it in its right hand. Megazord moves in and Speed Demon slashes his swords at Megazord. Megazord blocks one sword with its Power Sword and the other with the Mammoth Shield. Megazord pounds the Mammoth Shield forward, hitting Speed Demon's chest and making him stumble back.

RED RANGER: "Zack, use the freeze spray!"

BLACK RANGER: "Gotcha!"

Megazord uses the Mammoth Shield to freeze the two fiery swords, much to Speed Demon's surprise. Megazord slashes the Power Sword across and it cuts the frozen blades to pieces.

SPEED DEMON: "No!"

Megazord kicks Speed Demon with its Triceratops leg, knocking him back to Dragonzord and Dragonzord knocks him down with a tail whip. Speed Demon gets to one knee, clutching his chest.

RED RANGER: "Let's finish this!"

Megazord's eyes strobe with yellow light as it lifts the Power Sword to the sky. Reddish-white lightning bolts shoot from the sky into the Power Sword and, one it's full energized, Megazord slashes the sword at Speed Demon. SPEED DEMON SCREAMS as he's knocked back and he EXPLODES as he hits the ground. The RANGERS CHEER their victory.

* * *

The three main villains stand on the Lord Zedd watches the Earth, livid. His entire body glows red with rage. Rita and Domminnous watch him, unimpressed.

ZEDD: "No! I can't believe it! They destroyed my glorious monster!"

DOMMINNOUS: "Glorious? I wouldn't go that far."

ZEDD: "Oh, be quiet! Your monsters didn't fare any better!"

Zedd looks back at the Earth, clutching his Z-staff.

ZEDD: "Besides, I've been out of practice making monsters. But now, like the two of you, I will keep making nastier monsters until the Power Rangers finally meet their doom!"

* * *

In the garage of the Command Center, Dulcea and Ionisos are in the garage. Each is working on an unfinished, unpainted motorcycle. The three completed Battle Bikes are parked at the far end of the room.

IONISOS: "The Battle Bikes worked out well. It shouldn't take too long for us to finish the next three."

DULCEA: "Have you got the equipment and weapons ready?"

IONISOS: "Everything's ready. All we need to do now is install them into the Green, Yellow and Pink Battle Bikes."

Alpha 5 walks into the room, carrying a box in his hands filled with spare parts - handle bars, circuits, etc.

ALPHA 5: "I've got the spare parts you needed for the next Battle Bikes. Can I be of any assistance?"

IONISOS: "No thanks, Alpha. These parts will do just fine."

Alpha 5 sets the spare parts box near Ionisos. He reaches down to pick up one of the small computer screens from the box. Three Bikes had been finished, only three remained. And judging by the way Zedd, Rita and Domminnous were attacking, each new monster worse than the last, the Rangers would need all the equipment they could get taking down the Evil Space Aliens.

* * *

In the backstage room, Louis, John, Melissa, Kerri, Kelly and Jusko are in the room. Al sits on a chair nearby, with a bag of ice held on the bag of his head.

JUSKO: "You okay, Al?"

AL: "Yeah, I'm fine. Just sorry I couldn't perform for the fans. Where'd that monster go?"

KERRI: "I heard on the radio that the Power Rangers took care of it."

There is a knock on the door. The cyclists turn to face the doorway.

LOUIS: "Come in."

The doors open and the Rangers, Bulk, Skull and Spike walk into the room.

JUSKO: "Hey, come on in, you guys."

Bulk, Skull and Spike are star-struck at the sight of the cyclists. Spike is holding his autograph book in his hands. Bulk, Spike and Skull are MUMBLING, trying and failing to come up with an articulate response. Fortunately, Ethan stepped in to help them with that.

ETHAN: "Louis, Spike here's a big fan of yours. I think he wants your autograph."

LOUIS: "Is that so? Would you like my autograph?"

Spike just MUMBLES, but he nods. He approaches Louis and he hands him his autograph book. Louis pulls out a pen to write.

KERRI: "We hope you guys liked the show, regardless of the monster showing up and all."

ETHAN: (shrugs) "Hey, it's Angel Grove. I'm kind of getting used to it, unfortunately."

LOUIS: "Man, I just wish that we could've seen the Power Rangers. I'd love to get their autographs."

MELISSA: "Well, like Ethan said, it's Angel Grove. Maybe we can get a glimpse of them before we leave town for our next show."

The six Rangers exchange smiles. These cyclists did amazing, often dangerous, stunts and they were just as star-struck by the Rangers. This comment started to make Bulk and Skull relax a little, as evident by the smile on Bulk's face.

BULK: "Well, we met the Power Rangers a couple of times. We even saved the Zeo Rangers once."

AL: "Seriously? I'd love to hear that."

Ethan smiles. He'd heard some stories of the Rangers' exploits in the past as teenagers, but he didn't recall hearing Bulk and Skull having an adventure like that.

ETHAN: "So would I."

Bulk and Skull sit on the couch nearby and they let out proud smiles.

BULK: "Well, it all started when we saw Zeo Ranger Five over at the lake. We could see right through him."

Tommy and Kat smirk and then Tommy and Jason exchange knowing smiles, remembering that adventure fairly well back when they were Zeo Rangers. The Rangers had a feeling this was going to be a long story, but to them, after their victory over Speed Demon, this seemed like a nice, somewhat fitting way to end the day.


	7. Chapter 7 Magic Tricks

On Tuesday, July 15th, Kimberly stands in the room of her gymnastics class in Angel Grove Plaza. Kimberly is clad in workout clothes, her top leaving her scarred back mostly bare, and a towel is wrapped around her neck. Thanks to Jason giving her some renewed self-confidence that weekend, Kimberly had started wearing clothes that started to show her scars and she was deciding to have her students and friends get used to seeing them, even though she was also getting used to people staring at her. Among her class of teenage students are AMBER, JILL and LUCY.

KIMBERLY: "Hey, guys. Ready to start today's lesson?"

AMBER: "Yeah, you bet."

KIMBERLY: "Great. Let's get started. I've got plenty of water bottles in case you guys need to take a break."

Kimberly walks over to the balance beam, her back to the students. The students are surprised to see the long, deep whip scars on Kimberly's back and the back of her left arm.

JILL: "Miss Hart?"

Kimberly turns around to her students, puzzled. Lucy doesn't look as shocked, but the other students look concerned and Amber looks repulsed. Lucy barely hides a smile. This was the first time she'd seen her teacher finally feel confident enough not to try the scars she'd caught glimpses of by accident during a few of her classes.

KIMBERLY: "Are you guys all right?"

JILL: "Are _you?_"

Kimberly smiles.

KIMBERLY: "Yeah, don't worry about me, you guys. I've had these for a while."

AMBER: "We never saw them before. And quite frankly, I kind of wish we still hadn't."

KIMBERLY: "These are just part of me, guys. I can't exactly make them disappear. Besides, I still have a class to teach. You guys ready?"

The class nods. Kimberly smiles at them. They were still staring, but Kim had a feeling that would stop. At least, in time.

KIMBERLY: "Excellent. Who'd like to go first on the balance beam?"

* * *

At the Lunar Palace, Rita and Lord Zedd stand on the balcony. Rita watches with her telescope and Zedd with his eyebeam.

RITA: "I wish we could make Kimberly disappear, and the rest of those Power Punks as well! Finster!"

In his workshop, Finster is standing at a table, working on a clay model. Baboo and Squatt look on from the hall, but Finster doesn't notice.

RITA: (calls out) "Finster, where are you? Finster!"

Baboo and Squatt hide as Finster walks out of the room.

FINSTER: "I'm coming, my queen!"

Baboo watches Finster walk off down the hall, until he couldn't be seen at all.

BABOO: "Now!"

Baboo and Squatt walk into the room and they go to a table with clay monsters set on it.

BABOO: "Did you get the accessories?"

SQUATT: "I got a couple! I don't have as many toys as I used to!"

BABOO: "Oh, be quiet! We need to hurry! Finster will be back any minute! Now let's show Empress Rita how tough and mean we can be for her!"

Squatt nods and they look over the clay monsters. They were going to have one chance to prove they could help destroy the Power Rangers, and all they needed to do was to pick the right one...

* * *

Back in the Plaza, Jason stands in his classroom, wearing a tank top that shows some of his own whip scars on his back, pants, socks and sneakers. The last of his karate students, two teenage boys - 16 year old KYLE and 17 year old DAN - pack up their bags. At six foot three, Kyle is half a foot taller than Dan, but both are equally muscular and Kyle has black hair, while Dan's hair is brown.

JASON: "Bye, you guys. See you tomorrow."

DAN: "Thanks for teaching us that new recovery move, Jase."

JASON: "No problem. Later, Daniel."

The two teens wave and they exit the room. Walking into the room to Jason is JESSICA HARTLEY - 26, her long hair dyed blond, brown eyes and she has a lean-muscled, buxom physique. Jessica has on workout clothes similar to Jason's, except her pants are red and her racerback tank top is black.

JESSICA: "Hey, Jason. Have you got a second?"

JASON: "Sure, Jessica. What's up?"

JESSICA: "I've being trying to talk to Miss Kamps about my schedule, but when I dropped by her office, she wasn't there. She's been kind of coming and going from the Plaza lately and I need to get my work schedule for next week set up. You seem to be able to track her down better than me. If you see her, can you tell her we need to talk?"

Jason smiles and nods at his old friend. Dulcea had been busy with the Battle Bikes lately and still had three more to finish. Still, she also had to remember to make time with her disguise as the Plaza's owner, Miss Kamps.

JASON: "Yeah, definitely. I'll have her get back to you next time I see her."

JESSICA: "Thanks, Jason. See you later."

She waves as she exits the classroom.

* * *

Back in Finster's workshop, Baboo holds up a clay model of a ghoul dressed as a magician. Squatt empties his pockets and sets down toy accessories on the conveyor belt of the Monster Matic. Baboo walks over to join him and Squatt points at each one as he identifies the accessories.

SQUATT: "There. I've got a cane, a magic wand, some handkerchiefs, a pair of gloves, a top hat, a laser gun..."

Baboo looks puzzled by this.

BABOO: "What would a magician need with a laser gun?"

SQUATT: "These are all the accessories I had."

Baboo waves his hand, dismissing Squatt, and he moves to the Monster Matic.

BABOO: "Oh, never mind! Just move so I can put him on the conveyor belt, quick!"

Baboo sets the clay model on the conveyor belt. It was time to get started.

* * *

In the Palace's throne room, Finster, Zedd and Rita stand by the thrones. Domminnous walks into the room.

ZEDD: "I still think I should make a new monster and try again!"

RITA: "Forget it! You had your chance yesterday and Speed Demon was a flop! I want Finster to try again!"

DOMMINNOUS: "What's going on in here?"

The sounds of the Monster Matic in motion catch their attention.

ZEDD: "Never mind that! What's going on in the workshop?"

FINSTER: "My goodness! Who switched on my Monster Matic?"

* * *

By the time the noises had caught their masters' attention, the monster was nearly finished. The Monster Matic spits out the monster from the exit tube. When the smoke clears, there's no monster there.

SQUATT: "Hey, where is he?"

Rita, Zedd, Finster and Domminnous run into the room.

RITA: "He who? And who let you two clods in here?"

With a puff of smoke, the MAD MAGICIAN appears - clad in a tuxedo, top hat and his skin a sick, deathly green. His eyes glow red and he holds up his magic wand.

MAD MAGICIAN: "Ta-da!"

FINSTER: "Oh, no! They made my Mad Magician! But he's not ready yet!"

BABOO: "Oh, but he is! We gave him some weapons and everything!"

SQUATT: "Yeah, we turned up the power levels too! He's so strong, the Rangers will never be able to stop him!"

FINSTER: "I'm doomed, for sure!"

RITA: "Not as doomed as these dolts!"

Baboo quickly holds up his hands and Squatt cowers behind him. They couldn't let their big chance to prove themselves be ruined before it started.

BABOO: "No, wait, my queen! We did this for you! We want to prove we can help you take out the Power Rangers!"

DOMMINNOUS: "Fine! You want your chance, you've got it!"

Rita and Zedd turn to Domminnous. He was going to let Baboo and Squatt try to destroy the Rangers?

RITA: "You can't be serious!"

DOMMINNOUS: "If they win, it'll show they are valued henchmen and Finster can still take the credit. If they fail, and they likely will, we can use this as an excuse to show they have no right to create another monster without your permission!"

Rita and Zedd glance at one another. Well, the dolts had gotten this far...

RITA: "I can't believe this is happening."

Rita groans, looking irritated. She turns back to Baboo and Squatt.

RITA: "Fine, take him down to Earth! But I want Goldar, Rito and Scorpina to go with you!"

Baboo claps happily and Squatt finally moves away from behind Baboo.

BABOO: "Oh, goodie! You won't regret this!"

MAD MAGICIAN: "Then let's start my debut performance!"

Mad Magician creates a puff of smoke that makes him, Baboo and Squatt vanish.

* * *

In the Juice Bar and Diner of the Plaza, Kat, Tommy and Ethan, in civilian clothes, are seated at the bar and each has a large glass of soda set in front of them. Bulk and Skull are tending to customers. Zack walks over and he joins them, in workout clothes.

ZACK: "Hey, guys. Have you seen Jason and Kim around?"

ETHAN: "They just finished their last classes, they'll be here shortly."

Bulk walks over to the four seated Rangers.

BULK: "Hey, Zack. Would you like to make an order?"

ZACK: "Not yet, Bulk, but thanks."

Bulk smiles and nods. He walks off to another customer. Tommy looks over at the doorway and he frowns.

TOMMY: "You guys."

The other Rangers look at the doorway. Kimberly and Jason are standing, waiting, and Jason points at his communicator. Zack ignores his stomach's growling as the four Rangers get up from their seats and they walk over to the doorway. Dinner would have to wait.

JASON: "Sorry, guys, but Zordon wants us at the Command Center."

TOMMY: "Then let's move."

Jason nods. The six Rangers stand in the hall, away from the doorway, and find they're alone. They press the teleport button on their communicators and they beam out.

* * *

In the Command Center, Ionisos, in his uniform, and Dulcea, in her Amazonian outfit, are standing at the controls. Alpha 5 types on the keypad of a control console and Zordon is nearby. the Rangers beam into the room.

TOMMY: "What's going on, Zordon?"

ZORDON: "Rangers, we've detected a disturbance at the Children's Theater in the Park. Observe the Viewing Globe."

The Rangers face the Viewing Globe. Baboo and Squatt stand on the stage, with Mad Magician behind them. People flee from the theater in terror, while Mad Magician shuffles a deck of cards.

SQUATT: "Don't leave, you dummies! You'll miss the magic show!"

KAT: "Baboo and Squatt? What are they doing there?"

ZORDON: "Our sensors indicate they have created this new monster, the Mad Magician. This monster is very powerful and possesses unknown magical capabilities. Until we can determine what his powers are, approach him with extreme caution."

TOMMY: "We'll be careful, Zordon."

Jason reaches behind his back for his Morpher and the other five Rangers do the same in unison.

JASON: "It's Morphin Time!"

The Rangers hold out their Morphers and push the side button with their thumb to make the Morphers active.

TOMMY: "Dragonzord!"

ZACK: "Mastodon!"

KIMBERLY: "Pterodactyl!"

ETHAN: "Triceratops!"

KAT: "Saber-Toothed Tiger!"

JASON: "Tyrannosaurus!"

* * *

At the Children's Theater, Red Ranger flips through the air, followed by Pink, Black, Green, Yellow and Blue. They land on the stage and they see Baboo and Squatt standing with Mad Magician.

BABOO: "Oh, goody! You Rangers are going to get it now!"

SQUATT: "Yeah, you're just in time for the show!"

GREEN RANGER: "The show's over, boneheads!"

Goldar, Scorpina and Rito teleport onto the stage and they appear in front of Mad Magician.

SCORPINA: "Hey, only we get to insult those morons!"

BLACK RANGER: "Aw, man, not you again!"

MAD MAGICIAN: "I need to set up my first trick. Goldar, don't you and your friends entertain the Rangers until I get my act ready?"

GOLDAR: "It will be a pleasure!"

Goldar, Scorpina and Rito charge at the Rangers. Green Ranger draws his Dragon Dagger, while the others grab their Blade Blasters and switch them to sword mode. The Rangers return the charge and they split up in teams of two to start fighting.

At one side, Black Ranger and Blue Ranger fight with Rito. Blue Ranger attempts a slash with his Blaster sword, but Rito blocks it with his sword and counters with a slash that sparkly hits Blue's chest. Black Ranger moves in next, he blocks Rito's sword slash attack, and he's knocked back with a kick to the stomach. Black recovers, he blocks Rito's next sword slash with his Blaster sword and then he sparkly slashes Rito's chest with his sword. Rito stumbles back and is met with a kick by Blue Ranger.

Elsewhere, Yellow Ranger and Pink Ranger fight with Scorpina. Pink slashes her Blaster sword at Scorpina, but she dodges and kicks Pink Ranger's stomach. Scorpina sparkly slashes Pink Ranger's chest with her boomerang sword, knocking her back, and Yellow moves in next to attack. She lets loose a kick that Scorpina blocks and attempts a slash with her Blaster sword Scorpina blocks with her sword. Scorpina sparkly slashes Yellow Ranger's chest, knocking her back, and she turns to see Pink move in to attack again.

Near the edge of the stage, Red Ranger and Green Ranger fight with Goldar. Red Ranger blocks Goldar's sword attack with his Blaster sword, but Goldar lets loose another slash that sparkly hits Red's chest and knocks him back. Green Ranger moves in next, sparkly slashing Goldar's chest with his Dragon Dagger. He tries another slash attack, but Goldar blocks the Dagger with his sword and he sparkly slashes Green Ranger's chest armor. Goldar turns and sees Red move in. He blocks Goldar's sword attack and then uses his to sparkly slash Goldar's chest. He lands near Mad Magician, who is watching the battles, and he raises his hands.

MAD MAGICIAN: "Ah! Everything is ready! My friends, stand down!"

Mad Magician claps his hands. Goldar, Rito and Scorpina vanish in a puff of smoke. They reappear behind Mad Magician. The Rangers look at him, startled.

MAD MAGICIAN: "For my first trick, I'll need a volunteer! How about you, sir?"

Mad Magician points at Red Ranger and, with a puff of smoke, a brown cane stretches out and wraps around his arms, binding him. He struggles to get loose.

GREEN RANGER: "Jason! No!"

MAD MAGICIAN: "Come on up, don't be shy!"

The cane pulls Red Ranger over and he is dragged to Mad Magician. Black Ranger switches his Blade Blaster to gun mode and aims it at Mad Magician.

BLACK RANGER: "Let him go!"

Mad Magician waves his hand and a puff of smoke appears in front of the Blaster. When Black Ranger pulls the trigger, a flag with the word BANG! appears out of it.

BLACK RANGER: "Huh?"

MAD MAGICIAN: "You'll get your turn in a moment! Now, I'm going to make this Ranger disappear!"

RED RANGER: "Let me go, you-"

POOF! He vanishes in a puff of smoke. The cane stays in the same pose despite that Red Ranger is gone. Mad Magician points at the Black and Pink Rangers and they vanish.

BLUE RANGER: "Zack! Kimberly!"

Mad Magician claps his hands together and then as he moves his hands back, the cane splits into two canes. With a puff of smoke, the Black and Pink Rangers are bound inside the canes.

MAD MAGICIAN: "See? I told you you'd get your turn! Now, for my next trick, I shall turn this lovely young Ranger into a rabbit!"

Mad Magician takes off his top hat, he reaches down and Pink Ranger vanishes in a puff of smoke. The now-empty cane falls and hits the floor. Mad Magician reaches inside and he pulls out a rabbit, which has pink fur.

MAD MAGICIAN: "Ta-da!"

YELLOW RANGER: "Oh, no! Kimberly!"

That did it. No matter what this creep could do, Tommy couldn't just stand by and watch this freak mess with his friends.

GREEN RANGER: "Get him, guys!"

The three Rangers charge to attack, but Mad Magician holds up his hand and with a burst of sparkling dust the Rangers are suddenly frozen in place.

GREEN RANGER: "I can't move!"

Mad Magician waves his hands and he makes a table appear, with a large pet cage set on it. Mad Magician opens the cage and he gently sets the pink bunny inside.

BLACK RANGER: "Leave them alone!"

MAD MAGICIAN: "You're right! It's your turn!"

Black Ranger vanishes in a puff of smoke and the now-empty cane that bound him falls to the floor. Mad Magician reaches into his hat and he pulls out a bunny rabbit with black fur. He sets it into the cage gently.

MAD MAGICIAN: "I feel as though I'm forgetting something! Oh, yes, of course!"

Mad Magician reaches into the hat and he pulls out a rabbit with red fur. He sets it into the cage next and then he looks at the three frozen Rangers.

MAD MAGICIAN: "Do I have another volunteer?"

Mad Magician laughs. _These_ were the Power Rangers that had given Rita and Zedd so much trouble?

* * *

In the Command Center, Ionisos, Dulcea and Alpha 5 watch the Viewing Globe. Zordon is typing on the console.

ALPHA 5: "Ay yi yi! This is terrible! What are we going to do, Zordon?"

ZORDON: "I'm teleporting Tommy, Kat and Ethan here for new instructions."

Zordon pushes some buttons on his keypad. The three Rangers are beamed into the Command Center. The Rangers remove their helmets and hold them in their hands.

TOMMY: "Thanks for getting us out, Zordon, but we need to get the other Rangers back to normal."

ZORDON: "We'll do what we can to reverse the effects of the Magician's magic, but it's going to take some time."

The Rangers turn to face the Viewing Globe. The Globe shows the three rabbit Rangers are in the cage.

MAD MAGICIAN: "Did you see that, my friends? Your teammates just fled like scared little rabbits!"

ETHAN: "This guy has to have a weak spot."

The computer beeps. Alpha 5 goes over to the computer.

KAT: "What is it, Alpha?"

A paper emerges from the printer. Alpha holds the paper in his hands.

ALPHA 5: "Our sensors have detected an enormous amount of magical energy emanating from Mad Magician's gloves. It seems that's where his magic is stored."

TOMMY: "So how do we get the gloves off of him? We couldn't get near him."

IONISOS: "We're working on a way to counter the effects of the Magician's magic, but it'll take some time."

TOMMY: "What about Jason and the others? We can't just leave them there!"

ZORDON: "I'm afraid for the time being, we have to."

The Rangers exchange grim looks. They knew they couldn't get down there without possibly being turned into rabbits too, but that didn't mean they had to like hiding out.

* * *

On the Palace balcony, Rita, Zedd and Domminnous watch the Earth. They're laughing with evil glee at the sight of the three rabbits that were previously three of their worst enemies.

ZEDD: "I don't believe it! That Magician has already taken down half of the Power Rangers!"

RITA: "To think, those two bone-heads actually made a good monster!"

DOMMINNOUS: "Now we can destroy those three rabbit Rangers and then the Magician can finish off their friends when they attempt to save them!"

ZEDD: "What, are you crazy? I say we let them live and spend the rest of their lives as our own personal pets!"

RITA: "Way to use your exposed brain, Zeddy! That's such a wonderfully wicked idea keeping those Ranger rabbits kept in a cage!"

Domminnous smiled briefly. He did think it was a fitting punishment for the Rangers, but his smile quickly faded. The idea of keeping them alive was unacceptable to Domminnous after all the defeats they'd recently endured.

DOMMINNOUS: "Perhaps, but I still think it's a mistake by sparing them. Let's hope Baboo and Squatt don't mess this up. They have a knack for doing just that."

* * *

The three helmetless Rangers stand waiting with Dulcea and Alpha 5. Zordon and Ionisos have already left the room. Tommy is pacing the floor, back and forth. Three of his friends were out there, turned into rabbits and held in that Magician's cage... and there was nothing he could do to help them.

TOMMY: "Aw, man. We can't just wait around here. The others need our help."

DULCEA: "Be patient, Tommy. Ionisos and Zordon will come up with something soon."

A few seconds later, Tommy looks pleasantly surprised as Ionisos and Zordon walk into the room. Ionisos is holding a sprayer device in his hands.

IONISOS: "We were able to scan the Mad Magician's gloves and we've come up with a special spray that will protect you from his magic. Use the sprayer and push the yellow button. It'll remove the magic powers from the gloves."

KAT: "What about Jason, Kimberly and Zack? Will the spray restore them to normal?"

ZORDON: "I'm afraid the only way to do that, Katherine, is to destroy the Magician's hat. It was used to change them and destroying it will undo the magic spell the Magician placed on them."

ETHAN: "Then let's get sprayed and get to work."

The three Rangers put on their helmets. Ionisos aims the sprayer at Green Ranger first and he sprays him. He sprays Yellow next, then Blue. Ionisos hands Green Ranger the sprayer device.

GREEN RANGER: "All right, back to action!"

* * *

Back at the theater in the park, Mad Magician stands in front of the cage the three rabbits are locked in. Baboo and Squatt stand nearby, applauding him. Their plan was working. Maybe now Rita and Zedd, all of them, would finally take these two seriously.

BABOO: "Well done, Magician!"

SQUATT: "Yeah, great job!"

Goldar, Rito and Scorpina stand close by.

GOLDAR: "We should get rid of them!"

MAD MAGICIAN: "No! Lord Zedd and Rita want to keep them as pets! Once we turn the other three Rangers into rabbits as well, we can take the entire team to their throne room."

GREEN RANGER: "Nobody's taking our friends anywhere, ugly!"

Mad Magician turns around and LAUGHS as he sees the three Rangers return.

MAD MAGICIAN: "Right on cue! Now I can turn all of you into bunny rabbits and make you the pets of Rita and Zedd!"

He aims his gloves at the Rangers and his gloves glow. Nothing happens.

MAD MAGICIAN: "Huh? What's this?"

GREEN RANGER: "We've got a few tricks of our own! Let's do it, guys!"

Green Ranger aims his sprayer and he pushes the button. A green mist shoots out of the sprayer and covers Mad Magician's gloves. He quickly pulls his hands back and sees the green mist has left a thin green glow over the gloves.

MAD MAGICIAN: "_No!_ What have you done?"

Green Ranger flips over, he knocks Mad Magician back with a jump kick and he lands by the table. Green Ranger opens the cage door and he turns to see the other two Rangers, who have drawn their Blade Blaster guns.

GREEN RANGER: "_Now!_"

Goldar and Rito grab Green Ranger's arms, pulling him away, just as the two Rangers open fire. The beams from their Blasters hit the Magician's hat and it explodes. The three rabbits glow with light of their Ranger color, they float out of the open cage and return to their morphed Ranger forms as they hit the floor. The three Rangers get up to their feet as the Blue and Yellow Rangers join them.

MAD MAGICIAN: "No! This is all wrong!"

Mad Magician aims his Magic Wand at the Rangers, but Red Ranger holds up his Power Sword and he slices it across the Wand, cutting it in half.

RED RANGER: "Oh, no you don't!"

Mad Magician eyes the broken wand half held in his hand for a moment. _Now_ he understood why Rita and Zedd hated these Rangers so much, and with a frustrated growl, he tossed the broken half of his wand to the ground. Green Ranger stomps on Goldar's left foot and Rito's right, making them let go of his arms. Green Ranger then punches his fists back, hitting both in the face, and as he turns he's met with a sparkly strike to the chest by Scorpina's sword. Green Ranger hits the ground rolling and lands in front of the other Rangers' feet, just as they hold up their respective Power Weapons.

SQUATT: "Hey, no fair!"

RED RANGER: "It's time to finish this, guys! Assemble the Power Blaster!"

* * *

Back at the Lunar Palace's balcony, the three villains look on and they are livid. The Rangers were back to normal, the monster was failing and now defeat was imminent. Domminnous wasn't surprised, but what DID surprise him was how shocked Zedd and Rita were that the Magician was failing.

DOMMINNOUS: "I told you those fools would mess this up! We should have destroyed them when we had the chance!"

Rita pushes Domminnous aside with her free left hand, her right gripping her Magic Wand so tight that her nails were nearly cracking its handle.

RITA: "Oh, shut up! I'll fix their mess! Magic Wand, make the monster GROW!"

Rita tosses her Magic Wand at the Earth.

* * *

The Wand flies down, stabs into the ground and creates a chasm. Smoke comes up from out of the ground and it makes Mad Magician grow. The Rangers move away and the Magic Wand vanishes from the ground, heading back to the Palace.

RITO: "Make us grow, too, sis!"

MAD MAGICIAN: "No! I alone will destroy the Power Rangers!"

RED RANGER: "Don't bet on it! We need Dinozord power, now!"

GREEN RANGER: "Dragonzord power!"

He plays the Dragonzord fanfare tune on his flute. Rito, Goldar and Scorpina see the Dinozords have emerged from their hiding spots and are headed for the Park fast. The three villains reluctantly vanish and seconds later, Dragonzord runs to join the five Dinozords. The Rangers, including Green, leap up to their Zords and enter the cockpit.

RED RANGER: "Log on!"

GREEN RANGER: "Tommy here, online!"

BLACK RANGER: "Zack here, all systems are a go!"

BLUE RANGER: "Ethan here, locked on!"

YELLOW RANGER: "Kat here, on the run!"

PINK RANGER: "Let's make this magician disappear!"

Red Ranger holds up his newly-formed Power Crystal.

RED RANGER: "Rangers, power up your crystals!"

Red Ranger inserts his Crystal into his Zord's console. The other Rangers, except Green, do the same.

FOUR RANGERS: "Two, one, power up!"

RED RANGER: "It's time for Megazord power!"

The five Dinozords, except Dragonzord, draw closer to combine.

COMPUTER VOICE: "Megazord sequence has been initiated."

The five Zords connect and stand up to form Megazord, as usual.

COMPUTER VOICE: "Megazord activated!"

* * *

Upon completing its change, Megazord stomps away from the park and to the mountains. Dragonzord walks off, catching up to Megazord in the mountains. Dragonzord stands next to Megazord, both Zords battle ready. Mad Magician teleports into the area to join them.

MAD MAGICIAN: "So, you wanted to go somewhere more private for our fight! No matter! You may have ruined my magic gloves, but I'll still finish you off!"

Baboo and Squatt appear on a cliff nearby and watch. They applaud excitedly.

BABOO: "Go get 'em, Mad Magician!"

SQUATT: "Yeah, we gave you some firepower! Use it!"

MAD MAGICIAN: "As you wish! For my next trick-"

Mad Magician pulls a green handkerchief from his pocket, which is attached to a blue handkerchief, a red one, a pink one, a yellow one, a purple one and a white one, which resemble a whip. He flicks the handkerchiefs whip at Dragonzord's chest, knocking it back with a burst of sparks. Mad Magician turns the handkerchief into a lasso and it wraps around Megazord, tying around its arms. Megazord struggles to get loose, but can't.

MAD MAGICIAN: "Now, I shall make six pesky Power Rangers disappear... permanently!"

GREEN RANGER: "Back off, Magician!"

Dragonzord tail-whips Mad Magician's chest, raising sparks and making him stumble back. Megazord grabs the handkerchiefs lasso with its hands and pulls, pulling Mad Magician to the Zord. Megazord punches Mad Magician in the face, knocking him down and he hits the ground rolling.

GREEN RANGER: "Hang on, guys!"

Dragonzord's tail drill is activated. Dragonzord cuts the lasso off with its drill and Megazord's arms are free. Mad Magician gets up, brandishing the laser pistol.

MAD MAGICIAN: "Perhaps it'll be better to finish you off from a distance!"

Mad Magician opens fire, hitting Megazord with a burst of sparks, and then he shoots beams that sparkly hit Dragonzord. Both Zords stumble back.

GREEN RANGER: "I've got my own firepower, ugly!"

Dragonzord's missiles appear in its fingertips. The Zord fires and they hit Mad Magician, knocking him back with a burst of sparks.

RED RANGER: "Come on aboard, Tommy! We need Mega-Dragonzord power, now!"

Dragonzord disassembles, connects on top of Megazord and forms Mega-Dragonzord in its usual sequence. Green Ranger is now in the Megazord cockpit with the other five Rangers.

MAD MAGICIAN: "You fools can't stop me!"

BLACK RANGER: "Mammoth Shield!"

The Mammoth Shield appears over Mega-Dragonzord's left hand in a flash of neon grid lines. Mad Magician opens fire with his laser gun, but the Shield deflects the blasts.

BLUE RANGER: "Let's use our own firepower!"

Mega-Dragonzord fires blue energy from its Z symbols and fires a yellow beam from the silver of its chest-plate. The beams hit Mad Magician, making him drop his laser gun.

RED RANGER: "Let's finish him, guys!"

Mega-Dragonzord shoots yellow energy from its Z symbols, merging them into a green energy sphere. A red Z appears in the sphere and blue energy crackles around it, turning it into the Z-sphere. Mega-Dragonzord throws the Z-sphere, making it hit Mad Magician. MAD MAGICIAN SCREAMS, he falls over and explodes, destroyed. The RANGERS CHEER their victory.

SQUATT: "Oh, no! They destroyed our monster!"

BABOO: "Shut up, you dolt! Let's go or we'll be next!"

They vanish, teleporting away.

* * *

Baboo and Squatt reappear in the Lunar Palace, in the hallway outside of the throne room.

SQUATT: "I can't believe the Magician failed us!"

BABOO: "Those Rangers are always ruining everything!"

Domminnous, Rita and Zedd step out into the hallway from the throne room. Goldar, Scorpina and Rito follow them out.

RITO: "See? I told you I heard them out here!"

RITA: "You think you're safe coming back here? We'll make you wish you'd stayed behind with the Power Rangers, you boneheads!"

BABOO:" Let's get out of here, Squatt!"

Baboo and Squatt run off, with Rita leading the others running after them. So much for respect.

* * *

A short time later, the Rangers are seated at the bar of the Juice Bar and they're just starting to eat their dinner. Skull hands Kimberly back her large cup, which has been refilled with soda.

KIMBERLY: "Thanks, Skull."

SKULL: "No problem. You guys need anything else, just say so."

Skull walks off to tend to some more customers.

JASON: "Thanks for helping us back there, guys."

TOMMY: "No problem, bro. I'm just glad we got rid of that Magician."

ZACK: "It seemed too easy finishing him off. With his magic, he should've destroyed us easily."

KAT: "Well, Baboo and Squatt made it. What'd you expect?"

ZACK: "Yeah, besides, Jason didn't look so cute as a red bunny rabbit."

Jason playfully punches Zack on the arm. Ethan was listening and was mortified they were talking about their adventure in such a public place. How did people _not_ find out who they were when they were teenagers?

ETHAN: (voice lowered) "Would you keep it _down?_ These are_ secret_ identities, remember?"

Jason nods at him firmly. The Juice Bar wasn't very full, but Ethan had a point: they were going to have to discuss this victory at a later time. The Rangers start to eat their food - Tommy takes a bite out of his burger, Jason pours some mustard on his hot dog, etc. Zack looks at his bowl of salad and is about to take his first bite out of it. He stops and glances at the carrots and lettuce on his fork for a moment. After being turned into a rabbit, the salad he ordered didn't seem so appealing once it actually got serve to him. Zack puts his fork back into the bowl and Ethan smiles. He holds up his bowl of fries, holding them out to Zack.

ETHAN: "Want me to trade my fries for your salad, Zack?"

ZACK: "Just this once. After the day we had, I think it's a little too soon."

Ethan smiles and he trades his bowl of fries with Zack's salad.


	8. Chapter 8 Enter Boulder-Dash

On Friday, July 18th, Tommy is seated at his desk in his classroom at Angel Grove High School. Tommy is wearing a long-sleeved unbuttoned shirt over a black T-shirt, jeans, socks and shoes. He is looking over his eight seated students who are writing down on their papers. Most have already finished, while two more have just finished. The school bell rings and the students get ready to pack up and grab their backpacks and/or folders.

TOMMY: "All right, you guys, drop off your papers on my desk on your way out. I'll see you guys here on Monday. Have a great weekend."

The students get up, holding their books and they walk up to Tommy's desk. Each student sets his or her paper on his desk as they walk by and they leave. Tommy smiles and looks at the papers. He doesn't notice Ionisos, in a business suit, walk in.

IONISOS: "Hello, Thomas."

Tommy looks at the doorway and he smiles.

TOMMY: "Hey, Ian. How's your day been?"

Ionisos smiles at the mention of his alter-ego name as he stands in front of Tommy's desk.

IONISOS: "It's been fine, thanks. I see you've just finished."

TOMMY: "Yeah. Hard to believe we're half-way into summer. It's going to be a lot busier and louder when the next school year starts up this September."

IONISOS: "On the subject, Mr. Lewis would like to speak to you in his office. He said it was important."

TOMMY: "Sure thing."

Tommy gets up and he walks with Ionisos out of the room. Tommy shuts the door behind him.

* * *

Standing on the balcony of the Lunar Palace, Lord Zedd looks at the Earth with his telescopic red eyebeam.

ZEDD: "Those meddlesome Rangers have had a long enough break! It's time to come up with a new monster!"

Zedd ends his eyebeam and he walks into the throne room, where Domminnous and Rita are already seated on their respective thrones. Baboo, Squatt, Rito, Goldar and Scorpina stand nearby.

ZEDD (CONT'D): "And I've got a wonderfully wicked one in mind!"

RITA: "Hey, who said it was your turn? Thanks to Squatt and Baboo, I didn't even get the chance to have another turn!"

ZEDD: "Don't fret, my be-loathed. You'll get your chance soon enough! I'll even send Baboo and Squatt to help out this time!"

BABOO and SQUATT: "You will?"

RITO and SCORPINA: "You will?!"

GOLDAR: "You can't be serious, my lord!"

ZEDD: "_Silence!_ They've been whining to go down and help almost as much as the three of you! Besides, even if they fail, it'll be fun to see them run away whimpering! You can all go down to provide aid to my monster once it's created! Today, you can all share in having the honor of eliminating the Power Rangers!"

* * *

In Angel Grove High School, Tommy walks into Principal Lewis' office with Ionisos. Mr. Lewis is seated at his desk.

TOMMY: "What's up, Mr. Lewis?"

MR. LEWIS: "You'll be one of the last people I get to tell this to, Tommy. I'm going to be hiring three new teachers to replace Mr. Kendall, Mrs. Hall and Mr. Shaw."

TOMMY: "What? Why?"

MR. LEWIS: "Mr. Kendall and Mrs. Hall are leaving Angel Grove altogether. With all of the monster attacks that have been going on and the destruction caused from their fights with the Power Rangers, they don't feel safe enough to stay here and don't like being in Angel Grove anymore. As for Mr. Shaw... well, that's a bit more serious. He is quitting because she has to undergo treatment for throat cancer."

TOMMY: "Aw, man."

MR. LEWIS: "He's always been a heavy smoker and the doctors say they may be able to treat it, but he's not well enough to continue teaching right now."

IONISOS: "We know this is a lot to take in, but sir, tell Tommy the good news."

MR. LEWIS: "We've already hired one of the new teachers today. Or should I say re-hired."

TOMMY: "Re-hired?"

Tommy turns around and he smiles. He is pleasantly surprised to see his old teacher, MS. APPLEBY, walk into the room, smiling at him.

TOMMY: "Miss Appleby!"

MS. APPLEBY: "Hello, Tommy! It's so good to see you!"

The two hug. Tommy ends the hug and he smiles at her.

TOMMY: "I thought you'd stopped teaching."

MS. APPLEBY: "Well, I was laid off at my old job a few weeks ago and needed to find something else. Besides, I missed teaching and wanted to come back. There are a lot of nice memories in this school."

TOMMY: "I know what you mean."

MR. OLSEN: "I'll let you both know when I find some new replacement teachers for the fall. For now, I've got to go to a doctor's appointment. Excuse me."

Tommy nods. He walks out of the office, with Ms. Appleby and Ionisos following.

* * *

Inside the women's locker room of Angel Grove Plaza, Kat is seated on a bench by some lockers, clad in a T-shirt, jeans and socks. She puts a shoe on her left foot and ties the shoelaces. Kimberly walks in, clad in workout clothes.

KIMBERLY: "Hey, Kat. How's your day been?"

KAT: "Great, thanks. How about yours?"

KIMBERLY: "Good, thanks for asking. I just saw Jason. He's going to go out with the guys to go see that new Batman movie at the movies tonight. Did you want to hang out, just us girls?"

KAT: "Sure, that sounds like fun. We can check out that cool new sale at the mall, if you want."

A smile quickly spreads on Kimberly's face. Having a girls' night out at one of Kimberly's favorite hang outs was beginning to sound like a perfect way to end the day.

KIMBERLY: "Sounds good to me. I'm just going to get changed first and I'll meet you in the hall."

Kat nods. Kimberly walks off to her locker.

* * *

Back at the Palace, Rita and Domminnous stand with Zedd on the balcony. Zedd clutches his Z-staff in his left hand.

ZEDD: "I need a little more time to get my monster ready. For now, I think I'll send down some Putties to keep the Rangers occupied."

Back at Angel Grove High School, Tommy walks outside to the parking lot. He walks over to his car. He reaches for his keys, when he is struck from behind by a kick to the back. Tommy stumbles forward a few steps, but he regains his balance and turns around. A dozen Z-Putties are in the parking lot.

TOMMY: "Oh, great. Zedd doesn't know when to quit, does he?"

Z-Putty #1 moves in and punches at Tommy, but he blocks and knocks him down with a foot-sweep kick. Tommy gets up, turns and sees Z-Putty #2 throw a punch at his face. Tommy blocks, but Z-Putty #2 follows up with a knee to the ribs that makes Tommy stumble back. Tommy dodges the next punch attempt, catching the Putty's wrist and he flips Z-Putty #2 over so he lands flat on his back. Tommy turns to Z-Putty #3, he lets loose a spinning heel kick that the Putty dodges and the Putty retaliates with a spinning back fist. Tommy is knocked back to Z-Putty #4, who lets loose a kick to Tommy's ribs that knocks him down. Tommy gets up, holding his side, and then he taps his communicator.

TOMMY: "Zordon, this is Tommy. I need the others to -"

He is interrupted as Z-Putty #5 kicks him in the back from behind. Tommy goes down in a roll, recovering, and he turns to see the Z-Putties move in to attack. So much for a nice, quiet evening.

* * *

In the main room of the Command Center, Zordon and Alpha 5 watch the Viewing Globe, which shows Tommy being attacked in the parking lot. The alarms have gone off.

ALPHA 5: "Jason, Zack and Ethan are on their way. I'm contacting Kimberly and Katherine now."

* * *

Back in the women's locker room, Kimberly is now wearing a T-shirt, jeans, socks and shoes. She closes her locker and she walks to Kat.

KIMBERLY: "Ready to go?"

Kat's communicator beeps. The two ladies exchange grim looks. It looked like they'd be a little late getting their trip to the mall started. They look around, find they're alone. Kat holds up her communicator and pushes the talk button.

KAT: "This is Katherine, come in."

ALPHA 5: (on communicator) "Lord Zedd has sent a batch of Z-Putties at the Angel Grove High School. Tommy needs your help."

Kimberly taps her communicator's talk button.

KIMBERLY: "What about Jason and the others?"

ALPHA 5: (on communicator) "They're already on their way over."

KAT: "We'll be right there."

Kimberly nods and she stands next to Kat. They look down at their communicators, tap the teleport button and they beam out.

* * *

Back at the parking lot of Angel Grove High School, Tommy attempts a front snap kick, but Z-Putty #4 slaps it aside and counters with a side-kick to the abdomen that sends Tommy stumbling back. Z-Putties #1 and #2 catch Tommy by his arms from behind and he struggles to get loose. He still wasn't used to how strong and skilled these new Z-Putties were. Beaming down into the parking lot from behind the Putties are the other five Rangers. Jason and Ethan are still in workout clothes, while Zack has on a T-shirt, pants, socks and sneakers.

JASON: "Hey, clay-brains!"

The Z-Putties turn to see the five Rangers and the Rangers get into fighting stances. Tommy smiles at his friends.

TOMMY: "Thanks for dropping by, guys!"

JASON: "Anytime, bro!"

The other ten Z-Putties run off to battle the five Rangers. They split up and start to fight with the Putties.

Tommy stomps on Z-Putty #1's foot with his right foot and Putty #2's foot with his left. The Putties let go of Tommy, hopping on one foot, and Tommy quickly punches his fists back, punching the Putties on the face. They fall down to the ground.

Ethan fights with Z-Putties #3 and #4. He punches at Z-Putty #3's face, but the Putty blocks and knocks Ethan back with a kick to the chest. Ethan stumbles back and Z-Putty #3 lets loose a roundhouse kick. Ethan ducks under the kick and spins around, letting loose a foot-sweep kick that floors the Putty. Ethan gets up, turns around and sees Z-Putty #4 kick at his face. Ethan dodges the kick and retaliates with a kick to the Putty's stomach.

Close-by, Kimberly does a series of backflips as Z-Putty #5 rushes to attack her. At the end of the fourth backflip, Kimberly does a handspring and kicks Z-Putty #5 on the chest with both feet. The force of the double kick knocks Z-Putty #5 down, flipping him over and he lands flat on his stomach. Kimberly turns to see Z-Putty #6 as he backhand her face, making her stumble back a few steps, and the Putty kicks at her, but she blocks it. Kimberly counters by letting loose a spinning heel kick that knocks him down.

Nearby, Kat is struck on the chest by a jump-kick from Z-Putty #7 and she stumbles back. The Putty tries another kick, but Kat blocks the kick and counters with a spinning back-fist that knocks the Putty back. Kat then high-kicks the Putty, hitting it on the chest and the kick knocks him down. Kat turns to see Z-Putty #8 moving in to attack. The Putty punches at Kat, but she elbow-blocks the punch and she knocks him back with a side kick to the stomach. Kat heel kicks the Putty's abdomen and the kick knocks the Putty down.

Elsewhere, Zack ducks under Z-Putty #9's spinning heel kick and he lets loose a foot-sweep kick that the Putty jumps over. Zack gets up to his feet, he leans aside to dodge Z-Putty #9's high kick and Zack lets loose a high kick that hits Putty #9 across the jaw. As Z-Putty #9 hits the ground, Z-Putty #10 flips at Zack and knocks him back with a jump-kick to the chest. Zack falls back, but rolls back and gets to his feet, recovering. Zack attempts a kick to Putty #10's chest, but he catches Zack's right foot. Zack smiles, he spins and kicks Putty #10 across the face with his left foot.

On the sidewalk, Z-Putty #11 kicks Jason's chest and he stumbles back. Z-Putty #11 attempts a spinning heel kick that Jason ducks under, Jason blocks the Putty's next kick attempt and he counters with a kick to the chest that pushes Z-Putty #11 back. Jason then lets loose a tornado kick that floor the Z-Putty and Jason turns to see Z-Putty #12 moving in to attack. Z-Putty #12 punches at Jason's face, but he blocks it and lets loose his own punch to Z-Putty #12's stomach. Jason then uppercuts his right fist and hits Z-Putty #12 under the chin, knocking him down.

* * *

On the Palace's balcony, Lord Zedd looks at the Earth and he holds up his Z-staff.

ZEDD: "Excellent! The time has come for my new monster to attack! Arise, Boulder-Dash!"

Lord Zedd starts laughing as he fires a beam from his staff and it soars to the Earth.

A beam of white energy fires down and hits a small pile of boulders at the rock quarry. The energy crackles over the boulders, causing them to vanish and then, appearing from a flash of white light, is BOULDER-DASH. The monster is six-foot-six, its body made entirely of large brown rocks, and glowing white eyes and a frown-shaped crack in its head as its only facial features. A glowing white electrical light glows from the monster's chest and runs through the cracks of its rock body. BOULDER-DASH LAUGHS.

BOULDER-DASH: "Thank you, Lord Zedd! I'll find those puny Power Rangers and crush them in no time!"

Boulder-Dash runs off down the quarry and, after a few steps, he quickly builds up speed. At blinding speed, Boulder-Dash runs off from the quarry.

* * *

Near two parked cars at Angel Grove High School's parking lot, Tommy fights with Z-Putties #1 and #2, who have already recovered. Tommy attempts a high kick that Z-Putty #1 slaps aside, but Tommy is able to quickly let loose a kick that hits Z-Putty #1's chest Z and the kick knocks him down. Tommy turns, barely dodging Z-Putty #2's right hook. Tommy lets loose a left jab to Z-Putty #2's stomach and then a right cross to Z-Putty #2's jaw that causes him to stumble back. Tommy kicks at Z-Putty #2's chest Z, but he blocks and sends a punch to Tommy's face that knocks him back a few steps. Z-Putty #2 tries another punch, but Tommy catches his fist, he flips Z-Putty #2 over and he lands on his back. Tommy kicks the Putty's chest Z once, then again, rolling the Putty over onto his stomach. The two defeated Z-Putties glow and then they break apart into pieces as they vanish.

Tommy looks up and sees the other five Rangers in fighting stances, the other ten Putties already defeated and lying on the ground. They too glow and break into pieces as they vanish. Tommy smiles and joins the others.

KAT: "Are you all right?"

TOMMY: "Yeah, thanks for the help, guys."

Boulder-Dash appears, teleporting into the area with a flash of white light, and he stands on the sidewalk.

BOULDER-DASH: "You Rangers are going to need all the help you can get!"

The Rangers look around, finding they're alone.

KAT: "It's all clear."

TOMMY: "Then let's get this creep, guys."

Each Ranger reaches behind their back to grab his or her own Power Morpher.

JASON: "It's Morphin time!"

The six Rangers hold out their Power Morphers and they press the red button on the side with their thumb. The cases pop open, making red LED lights flash in the red center layer of the Morpher to make the Morphers active.

TOMMY: "Dragonzord!"

ZACK: "Mastodon!"

KIMBERLY: "Pterodactyl!"

ETHAN: "Triceratops!"

KAT: "Saber-Toothed Tiger!"

JASON: "Tyrannosaurus!"

The six morphed Power Rangers get into fighting stances. Rito, Goldar, Scorpina, two classic Putties, Baboo and Squatt teleport in around Boulder-Dash and join him.

BOULDER-DASH: "Let's even the odds, shall we?"

BLUE RANGER: "That's your back-up? Man, are you in trouble, boulder breath."

BOULDER-DASH: "The name is Boulder-Dash and we'll see which side is in trouble!"

Boulder-Dash, the Putties and the henchmen charge at the Rangers and they return the charge. The Rangers split up to do battle.

Pink Ranger fights with Scorpina. Pink Ranger holds up her Blade Blaster sword and she blocks Scorpina's boomerang sword slash attack with her Blaster sword. Scorpina follows up with another slash that hits Pink Ranger's chest, knocking her back a few steps. Scorpina tries again, but Pink Ranger blocks Scorpina's sword with her own and she attempts a high kick Scorpina dodges. Scorpina sparkly slashes Pink Ranger's chest again, knocking her down.

Meanwhile, Yellow Ranger duels with Rito. She has her Power Daggers in her hands and she blocks Rito's sword with them. Yellow Ranger pushes the sword back with her Daggers, but he manages to sparkly slash her chest and she stumbles back. Rito tries to Yellow again with his sword, but she backflips away and then she leaps at Rito, slashing him with her Daggers. Rito stumbles back and he tries another slash with his sword that Yellow blocks with her Daggers.

Close-by, Blue Ranger fights with Baboo and Squatt. Baboo attempts a kick Blue Ranger dodges. He then tries to punch Blue Ranger, but he catches his arm and pulls, flipping him over. As Baboo lands on his back, Squatt moves in to attack next and he tries a punch that Blue blocks. Blue kicks Squatt's stomach, making him stumble back. Squatt aims his blaster gun at Blue and he opens fire, but he flips aside, he holds up his Blade Blaster and fires a few beams at Squatt, knocking him down.

Meanwhile, Black Ranger fights the two Putties. Black Ranger holds up his Power Axe and he sparkly slashes Putty #1 across the chest, making him stumble back. Putty #2 moves in next to attack, he blocks Putty #2's high kick and he floors it with a foot-sweep kick. Putty #1 gets up, he moves in and knocks Black Ranger back with a kick to the ribs. Putty #1 tries another kick, but Black Ranger blocks Putty #1's next kick attack and he knocks Putty #1 back with a kick to the chest.

On the road, Green Ranger fights with Goldar. Green Ranger blocks Goldar's sword slash with his Dragon Dagger, but Goldar manages to strike again and he sparkly slashes Green's chest. Green Ranger stumbles back a few steps, but he blocks Goldar's next sword attack with his Dagger and he knocks Goldar back with a kick to the stomach. Goldar recovers, he blocks Green's Dagger attack with his sword and the two uses their weapons to try to push back the other's blade.

On the sidewalk, Red Ranger fights with Boulder-Dash. He kicks at Boulder-Dash, who blocks it and retaliates by punching Red Ranger on the chest. Sparks fly off his suit as Red Ranger stumbles back, he ducks under the next kick and attempts a foot-sweep kick that doesn't affect Boulder-Dash at all. Boulder-Dash counters by kicking Red Ranger on the chest, knocking him back. Red Ranger recovers, he gets to his feet and he draws his Blade Blaster gun. He fires three beams, but an electrified force field emerges from within the cracks of his body and it appears over Boulder-Dash, blocking the beams.

RED RANGER: "Oh, man! A force field!"

Boulder-Dash puts his hands together, he creates a basketball-shaped ball of electric energy and he throws it at Red Ranger. RED RANGER SCREAMS as the electric ball hits him square in the chest. The impact pushes him back, he lands on his back and Red Ranger lies stunned. With a flash of red light, Red Ranger demorphs back to Jason.

BOULDER-DASH: "Since you're the leader, it's only fitting you be the first to fall!"

Boulder-Dash laughs as he walks to Jason. Jason tries to get up, but he can still feel the shocks ripping inside his body, though not as strong as before. Jason can only lie on the ground, hurt and stunned.

* * *

Over in the Command Center, Zordon and Alpha 5 watch the Viewing Globe.

ALPHA 5: "Ay yi yi! Jason's in serious trouble!"

ZORDON: "Don't worry. The other Rangers can help him. Try to find a weak spot on this Boulder-Dash monster."

ALPHA 5: "I'm looking, Zordon."

He resumes typing on his console's keyboard.

* * *

Back at the High School, Boulder-Dash walks over to Jason and Green Ranger notices.

GREEN RANGER: "Hang on, bro! We're coming!"

Green Ranger kicks Goldar on the chest, making him stumble back and he knocks Scorpina down with him. Yellow Ranger kicks Rito aside and the Putties lie defeated on the floor in front of the Black and Blue Rangers. Blue Ranger kicks Baboo's stomach and he knocks him back onto Squatt.

BABOO: "This newbie's tougher than I thought! Let's get out of here!"

As Zedd predicted, and wanted, Baboo and Squatt get up and run off whimpering to Goldar, Scorpina and Rito. The villains teleport away. The other five Rangers rush over to join Jason. Pink Ranger hands him his Morpher from the floor.

PINK RANGER: "Are you okay?"

JASON: "I'll be fi-"

He suddenly stops and GRUNTS, falling back. Pink Ranger catches Jason in time and he winces as the electric shocks continue to run inside his body.

GREEN RANGER: "You need to rest in the Command Center, Jase! We'll handle this!"

JASON: "I just need to morph. I can..."

Green Ranger quickly gets to Jason and grabs his wrist gently, reaching for his communicator.

GREEN RANGER: "Sorry, bro, you're hurt. Let us handle this creep."

He taps Jason's communicator and he is teleported out.

BOULDER-DASH: "You fools! I'm too powerful and fast for you to defeat!"

GREEN RANGER: "We'll see about this!"

The five Rangers charge, but Boulder-Dash moves by each one at super-speed. He slams a fist into each Ranger's chest as he passes by at blinding speed, knocking all five Rangers to the ground.

BOULDER-DASH: "You fools! You're not fast enough to catch me!"

GREEN RANGER: "We'll find a way to stop you, Pebbles!"

BOULDER-DASH: "You have to catch me first."

As the Rangers get to their feet, Green Ranger draws his Dragon Dagger as the others draw their Blade Blasters and switch them to sword mode. The Rangers charge at Boulder-Dash, but again, he zips by them at super-speed and knocks each down with a punch. Yellow Ranger, however, falls to one knee and she turns to Boulder-Dash. She moves at Boulder-Dash to mount another attack, but Boulder-Dash runs at super-speed, he stands behind Yellow Ranger and quickly throws an electric ball that hits her in the back. Yellow Ranger SCREAMS as she falls, she lands on her stomach and demorphs, switching back to Kat. Kat grunts, struggling to get up, but she can only lie still and she twitches as the shocks still pass through her body.

GREEN RANGER: "Kat! No!"

Boulder-Dash turns to see the Pink and Blue Rangers aim their Blade Blasters at him. Before they can be switched to gun mode fully, Boulder-Dash tosses an electric ball at each at blinding speed. The two Rangers scream in pain as the hit from the electric balls knocks them down and they demorph. Kimberly and Ethan shut their eyes and they grunt as the shocks make them twitch.

BLACK RANGER: "Ethan! Kimberly!"

Boulder-Dash stumbles back, a bit hurt. A spark comes from within his chest. Boulder-Dash shakes his head to clear it.

BOULDER-DASH: "I think I'll come back when you're more of a threat to me."

Boulder-Dash runs off at super-speed, gone from the area in mere seconds. Kat sits up and she watches him run off, puzzled by his departure. Why did he leave rather than stay behind and finish them off? Kat suddenly flinches, still feeling some of the electric shocks ripping through her entire body, and she falls back. Green Ranger goes to Kat, catching her, while Black Ranger goes to Ethan and Kimberly.

BLACK RANGER: "Hang on, guys."

Black Ranger taps his communicator's talk button.

BLACK RANGER (CONT'D): "Zordon, teleport the others to the Command Center with us."

ZORDON: (on communicator) "Stand by, Rangers."

Black Ranger nods. The Rangers are teleported away.

* * *

On the Lunar Palace's balcony Lord Zedd, Rita and Domminnous watch the Earth with their eyebeam and telescopes, respectively.

ZEDD: "Look at that! Four of the Rangers are already down! I knew this monster would work!"

DOMMINNOUS: "He's showing promise, but these Rangers have a knack for beating our best monsters."

ZEDD: "I have a feeling they won't be quite so fortunate this time. At last, those Rangers will finally meet their match!"

* * *

Inside the Command Center, Jason, Ethan, Kimberly and Kat are seated on the floor, leaning against the control stands. The Yellow and Black Rangers stand nearby, their helmets in their hands. Kimberly flinches as her body shudders. She could still feel an electric charge rippling through in her body, though it was slowly fading away.

KIMBERLY: "Man, that was quite a shock."

ETHAN: "I don't get it. He had us stunned. Why didn't he finish us off?"

Kat looks puzzled as she looks over at Zordon. She had an idea as to why that monster ran off.

KAT: "Wait. Before Boulder-Dash left, there was a spark that shot from within a crack in his chest. And right after that happened, it looked like he was worn out."

ZORDON: "That's a good observation, Kat. I ran a scan on the monster during the fight and it seems the monster is powered by electricity. It seems the more power he has, the faster he can become."

ZACK: "That's why he ran off. He must need to recharge after zapping us."

The alarms suddenly go off. Alpha 5 looks at the information on his control stand's computer. Jason, Kat, Kimberly and Ethan manage to stand, the shocks finally gone.

ALPHA 5: "Ay yi yi! You were right, Zack! Look!"

The Rangers look at the Viewing Globe. On the Viewing Globe, Boulder-Dash walks into the Angel Grove Power Plant. Goldar, Scorpina and Rito are with him.

ZORDON: "Rangers, it seems the monster is headed to the main energy grid at the power plant."

TOMMY: "If he does that, then he'll be too powerful to stop. We'd better get down there."

ZORDON: "Be careful, Rangers, and may the Power protect you."

JASON: "It's Morphin Time!"

The four Rangers hold out their Morphers to morph again.

KIMBERLY: "Pterodactyl!"

ETHAN: "Triceratops!"

KAT: "Saber-Toothed Tiger!"

JASON: "Tyrannosaurus!"

A fiery red grid appears over Jason's head and then it splits vertically, creating the Red Ranger helmet over his head.

* * *

At the Angel Grove Power Plant, Boulder-Dash walks over to the energy grid.

BOULDER-DASH: "Ah, this should do nicely! With this much electricity, I'll be twice as powerful!"

The six Rangers run up and stand near the energy grid.

GREEN RANGER: "Be careful what you wish for, Squatt!"

BOULDER-DASH: "You're back? Looks like you need another shock!"

GREEN RANGER: "Oh, no you don't! You guys stand back! Zack and I will handle him!"

Three Putties, Goldar, Rito and Scorpina step forward in front of Boulder-Dash.

GOLDAR: "Then we'll take the rest of you! Get them!"

The Rangers and the Evil Space Aliens split up to attack.

Pink Ranger fights with Rito. Pink backflips as Rito slashes at her with his sword and then she blocks his next sword attack with her Power Bow. Rito then kicks Pink's stomach, making her stumble back. Pink backflips away from Rito and then she fires three arrows at Rito that hit his chest, knocking him back.

Yellow Ranger fights with Scorpina. Yellow is knocked back by a slash to the ribs by Scorpina's boomerang sword, but she recovers and attempts a kick Scorpina blocks. Scorpina slashes at Yellow again, but she blocks the blade with her Daggers and she attempts a slash with her Dagger that Scorpina blocks.

Red Ranger fights with Goldar. Red slashes his Power Sword at Goldar, but he blocks with the blade of his sword. He pushes back Red's sword with his own sword's blade and he slashes Red's chest, making him stumble back. He tries another slash, but Red blocks it with his sword and he sparkly slashes Goldar across the chest, with a wave of red light following his Power Sword's blade.

Blue Ranger fights with the two Putties. Blue Ranger elbow-blocks Putty #1's haymaker and retaliates with a right hook to the Putty's jaw that knocks him back. Putty #2 moves in and knocks Blue back with a kick to the stomach. Putty #2 tries another punch that Blue Ranger blocks and he delivers a kick to Putty #2's stomach that knocks him back.

Nearby, Black and Green Rangers duel with Boulder-Dash. Green Ranger tries to slash him with his Dragon Dagger, but Boulder-Dash quickly knocks him down with a kick and he moves at super-speed to Blue Ranger. He attempts a punch that Boulder-Dash dodges at super-speed and then he quickly knocks Black Ranger down with a super-speed kick.

BLACK RANGER: "What's the rush, coward?"

BOULDER-DASH: "Coward?"

BLACK RANGER: "The only reason you're winning is because of your speed! I bet you're too cowardly to slow down and face us in a fair fight!"

BOULDER-DASH: "What? How dare you?! NOBODY calls me a coward! You want a fair fight? You've GOT one!"

Black Ranger moves in to attack. He delivers a kick to Boulder-Dash's chest that doesn't faze him and then Boulder-Dash knocks him back with a punch to the chest. Green Ranger moves in next, sparkly slashing Boulder-Dash's back with his Dagger, and Boulder-Dash turns to face him. He hits Green Ranger with a kick to the stomach, but Green Ranger recovers and he lets loose a high kick that doesn't affect Boulder-Dash. The monster knocks Green Ranger down with a sparkly punch to the chest and Black Ranger simultaneously draws his Blade Blaster gun. He opens fire, his beams hitting the cracks of Boulder-Dash's body. Boulder-Dash turns to Black Ranger and he opens fire again. This time, the beams hit the cracks on his chest where the energy sphere is and the monster staggers back in pain.

BLACK RANGER: "So, you do have a weak spot! It's the energy sphere inside his chest!"

Boulder-Dash clutches his chest, his hands glowing with electrical power.

BOULDER-DASH: "Why, you-"

Boulder-Dash throws a ball of electricity at the two Rangers, but they somersault away. Black Ranger fires two more beams that hit the cracks in his chest, striking the energy sphere in his chest.

BOULDER-DASH: "That's it! I'm through with this fighting fair garbage!"

Black Ranger attempts to fire again, but Boulder-Dash charges at super-speed and he knocks him down with a punch to the chest. Boulder-Dash then kicks Black Ranger's stomach, knocking him over onto his back. Green Ranger moves in next, but Boulder-Dash rushes by at super-speed and throws a punch at Green Ranger's chest, knocking him down. Black Ranger gets to one knee and Boulder-Dash creates an electric ball. He throws it at Black Ranger, who somersaults aside and dodges the electric ball. This fight had gone on long enough and Zack had an idea on how to catch up to this super-speedy pile of rocks.

BLACK RANGER: "Let me try something more your speed! Mastodon Battle Bike!"

The Mastodon Battle Bike appears with a flash of purple light. Black Ranger backflips, landing on his bike, and he zooms by Boulder-Dash. He shoots purple beams from his dual cannons that hit Boulder-Dash's chest. Boulder-Dash staggers back, clutching his chest. The energy sphere in his chest has dimmed considerably from the damage it's taken by the beams.

BOULDER-DASH: "No... I need to recharge."

BLACK RANGER: "Not on my watch!"

Black Ranger zooms his motorcycle around Boulder-Dash and he fires, hitting the cracks of his chest and upper back. The hits make Boulder-Dash stumble back and his body starts to crack from the hits. Red Ranger knocks Goldar away with a sparkly slash to his chest with his Power Sword and then he turns to see Boulder-Dash.

RED RANGER: "Guys, the monster's weakening! We need to move in now!"

Yellow Ranger moves aside as Pink Ranger knocks Rito away with a spinning heel kick and he collides onto Scorpina, sending both crashing to the ground.

YELLOW RANGER: "We're on our way!"

Blue Ranger knocks the last standing Putty down with a high kick and it lies on the floor with the other defeated Putties. The other four Rangers hold up their respective Power Weapons as Green Ranger simultaneously slashes Boulder-Dash's chest with his Dagger. Black Ranger shoots some more purple beams, hitting Boulder-Dash's body cracks and causing more damage. Black Ranger's cycle slows down and parks. He holds up his Power Axe.

BLACK RANGER: "Ready to bring 'em together, guys?"

RED RANGER: "Just what I had in mind! Assemble the Power Blaster, guys!"

The six Rangers connect their weapons, letting off an electrical charge, and Black Ranger switches his Axe to cannon mode.

BLACK RANGER: "Power Axe!"

He tosses his Axe away and it hovers in mid-air.

PINK RANGER: "Power Bow!"

Pink Ranger tosses her Bow and it connects to the Axe.

YELLOW RANGER: "Power Daggers!"

She tosses her Daggers and they connect at either side of the Bow, near the ends.

BLUE RANGER: "Power Lance!"

He tosses his Lance halves away and they connect to the Power Bow, close to the Axe.

GREEN RANGER: "Dragon Dagger!"

Green Ranger tosses his Dagger and it connects to the handle under the Axe.

RED RANGER: "Power Sword!"

Red Ranger leaps up, he connects the Sword onto the Blaster and completes the change. Red Ranger holds the Power Blaster as he drops down onto the ground and the other Rangers gather around him.

ALL SIX RANGERS: "Fire!"

GOLDAR: "We'll meet again, Power Rangers!"

The three villains teleport away.

RED RANGER: "Come on, guys. Let's get outta here."

The six Rangers beam out.

* * *

A short time later that night, inside the Angel Grove Mall, Kimberly and Kat walk out of a shoe store and back into the mall. Kat has three bags total held in her hands, while Kim has a minimum of three bags held in each of her hands.

KIMBERLY: "This is totally awesome. I can't believe how many cool deals we've gotten here at the mall."

KAT: "You've picked out a lot of cool stuff, Kim."

KIMBERLY: "Thanks. You got some pretty awesome stuff yourself. You want to take a break and head to the food court to get some dinner?"

KAT: "That sounds nice."

Kimberly smiles and nods. She walks with Kat over to the food court.

* * *

Inside the Angel Grove Multiplex, Jason, Ethan, Tommy and Zack are in the middle of a long line. Jason and Ethan now no longer wearing workout clothes, instead they're wearing new civilian clothes. Each Ranger has a large cup of soda and a bag of popcorn in their hands, though Zack's is a large popcorn bucket.

ZACK: "Man, I can't believe how long the lines are. It's a good thing we got here early."

TOMMY: "Yeah, I know. The last movie was pretty good. I wonder how good this sequel will turn out to be."

Bulk, Skull and Spike are also in the line, not far behind the four male Rangers in the line. Each holds a cup of soda and a bag of popcorn, though Bulk has a large popcorn bucket in one arm and a box of nachos in his left hand.

SPIKE: "Thanks for getting the opening night tickets, Uncle Bulk."

BULK: "No problem, Spike. This looks like a great movie."

SKULL: "Hey, Bulkie, you got the tickets?"

BULK: "Oh, yeah. They're in my pocket."

Bulk looks and finds his hands are full. He looks at Skull.

BULK: "Hey, Skull, would you grab 'em for me?"

SKULL: "Sure, which pocket?"

BULK: "The right pocket on my over-shirt."

Skull gives Bulk a grin and a thumb's up. He reaches in Bulk's over-shirt pocket, trying to find the keys. He sees that the people at the front of the line are getting their tickets checked.

BULK: "Come on, Skull, they're about to seat us."

SKULL: "Almost got 'em..."

He smiles and pulls the tickets out of his pocket, but he's so fast in getting up that he bonks under the bottom of Bulk's popcorn bucket. The impact knocks Bulk's popcorn bucket out of his hand and into the air. The bucket of popcorn falls and spills all over Bulk as the bucket lands on his head. The people in line, except the four male Rangers, all burst out laughing. Skull lifts the bucket up, away from Bulk's eyes, and he glares angrily at Skull. Skull keeps his eyes on Bulk as he hands Spike the tickets.

SKULL: "Here, son, enjoy the movie. I don't think I'll be able to make it inside after Uncle Bulk gets done with me."

Ethan gets out of line and he takes the bucket off Bulk's head.

ETHAN: "It's all right. Spike, go get a seat saved for your uncle. Bulk, get cleaned up and I'll get you a new bucket of popcorn. My treat. Skull, be more careful next time."

Skull nods, managing a nervous smile.

BULK: "Thanks, Ethan."

Ethan turns to see the other Rangers smiling, proud at what he's done. They nod at him.

ETHAN: "Save me a seat. I'll be right there."

Ethan walks off to the concession stand. Bulk glares at Skull.

SKULL: "Gee, that was nice of him. Spike, why don't you sit next to Uncle Bulk this time... that way he won't be within strangling reach of your dear old Dad?"

Bulk walks off to the bathrooms to get cleaned up. Spike nods and walks with Skull down the line towards the ticket greeter. Soon, it'd be show-time.


End file.
